- The UK government closed thirteen asylum hotels in August, including the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale.
- The latest closures will save fifty-one million pounds annually, bringing twenty twenty-six total closures to forty-four.
- Asylum seekers are being relocated to military sites such as M-O-D Bicester, Barnham, and Linton-on-Ouse.
Andy Burnham’s government confirmed Wednesday that 13 asylum hotels across the United Kingdom have shut, including a site in Hale, Trafford, as ministers accelerate a plan to end hotel accommodation by 2029.
The Hale asylum seeker hotel stopped operating as asylum accommodation on August 11, after housing migrants for more than three years. The Britannia Ashley Hotel had been used for that purpose since February 2023.
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The latest closures are expected to save taxpayers £51 million a year. They bring the total number of hotels closed in 2026 to 44, following 11 closures in April and 20 in June.
The Home Office is moving asylum seekers into dispersed housing, military barracks and larger basic sites. A legal challenge is also moving forward.
Immigration Minister Anna Turley said the government wanted to end hotel use permanently and shift residents into facilities such as former military sites.
“For too long, communities have watched hotels at the centre of their towns and cities become symbols of a broken asylum system. We are turning that around by ending the use of asylum hotels for good and moving people into larger, basic accommodation like former military sites. This Government’s reforms are overhauling the immigration system to restore control at the border, and fairness to our immigration system.”
Turley issued the statement on August 12, 2026. The Home Office said on August 11 that returning the buildings to “community use” would help restore local jobs and support nearby cafés, shops, restaurants and attractions.
The August closures cover 13 hotels across England
The sites named in the August round are:
- Britannia Ashley Hotel, Hale, Trafford
- Grand Metropole Hotel, Blackpool
- Grosvenor Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon
- Staycity Apartments Deptford Bridge, Lewisham, London
- Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Loughborough
- Chimney House Hotel, Sandbach
- Holiday Inn, Bridgwater
- Gold Thorn Hotel, Wolverhampton
- Nottingham Hotel, Nottingham
- Best Western Brook Hotel, Norwich
- Dubrovnik Hotel, Bradford
- Holiday Inn Express, Dunstable
- Needham House, Hitchin
The closures leave fewer than 160 hotels housing asylum seekers. That figure compares with a peak of approximately 400 under the previous administration.
The Home Office estimates that closures completed during 2026 will save £224 million. It also reports that overall asylum accommodation costs have fallen by nearly £1 billion since the July 2024 general election.
Ministers are replacing hotels with larger, basic sites
The government has linked the closures to a manifesto pledge to “end asylum hotels for good” by 2029. Its replacement model relies on larger accommodation facilities, including former Ministry of Defence sites.
Three sites named in the policy are MOD Bicester in Oxfordshire, MOD Barnham in Suffolk and MOD Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire. Together, they could house roughly 3,750 people.
Residents from closing hotels are being moved to military barracks or other dispersed housing. The policy changes the type of accommodation available while the asylum process continues.
The government has described the new facilities as basic. Turley said the reforms were intended to restore control at the border and fairness to the immigration system.
A written Home Office ministerial statement dated June 29, 2026, set out the policy under the title “Asylum accommodation: ending hotel use.”
High Court permission brings the relocation process under challenge
The High Court granted permission on August 12 for a legal challenge against the Home Office’s “rapid closure process.”
The plaintiffs argue that officials failed to assess residents’ individual vulnerabilities before moving them. They cite children with disabilities and victims of torture among those who may need particular consideration.
The claimants say some residents could be transferred to facilities that are “worse” or “inadequate.” The challenge focuses on the process used to close the hotels and relocate the people living in them.
The Refugee Council has also warned that a rapid transition, combined with the possible withdrawal of support for asylum seekers with work rights, could increase homelessness and destitution.
The closures therefore combine a financial target with a major change in accommodation. The government says returning hotels to local use will benefit towns, while critics have focused on the conditions and support available after relocation.
The 2026 program has already proceeded in three rounds: 11 hotels closed in April, 20 in June and 13 in August. The latest round was confirmed on August 12, the same day the High Court allowed the legal challenge to proceed.
