Stratford asylum seekers could end up in Leicester – claim
CONCERNS have been raised over the next phase of the asylum seeker contract at the Grosvenor Hotel in Stratford amid reports some families are being moved out of the premises and re-located to places like Leicester but have no idea where they’re going.
While it appears as soon as one group of people is moved a new group of asylum seekers replaces them which suggests there are no immediate plans to return the hotel to its existing business role which is something Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi recently gave his backing to.
Having fled their homeland to seek refuge in Stratford which often involves bringing a young family as well, some asylum seekers are now faced with having to take a new route to secure their futures often with little or no influence over the decision-making process.
It’s a situation which concerns Roger Matthews, chair of Welcome Here a group that has been supporting families living at the hotel.
“On the one hand there are a lot of new people arriving which suggests the Grosvenor Hotel is not being closed down to asylum seekers but often a taxi turns up and takes others away from the hotel and they do not know where they are going until the taxi arrives. There is an absence of planning and some families are being told they’ll have to wait until the New Year before their children can go to a school. A lot of local authorities don’t have the community welcome that’s currently in place with Warwickshire County Council,” Mr Matthews told the Herald.
Welcome Here in Stratford supported Syrian refugees when their country was ravaged by war six to seven years ago and while there doesn’t appear to any suggestion the Grosvenor will revert back to its original status at the moment, the climate of uncertainty can’t help people who’ve faced tragic upheaval try and settle down to a more peaceful life.
“The main concern is how the Home Office is managing the movements of these people. They could be going to Leicester, Manchester, Grimsby – who knows where - because no one is being told where they might end up. A volunteer who worked at the Grosvenor who had supported a family of asylum seekers who had been moved to Leicester went to see them last Saturday and they said they didn’t know where they were going until they got in the taxi,” Mr Matthews added.
Warwickshire County Council has previously said while the running of the hotel would the responsibility of the Home Office, they have a duty of care to the asylum seekers, who are waiting decisions on their asylum applications.
The Government is currently reviewing which hotels need to be used as emergency accommodation following the numbers of migrants arriving by small boats dropping by 20 per cent.
Nadhim Zahawi MP has given his backing for the Grosvenor Hotel on the Warwick Road to go back to business as usual at some stage early next year.
