Plan to put refugees in Quorn Hotel halted

Swish accommodation plans for asylum seekers to be housed in the Quorn Country Hotel have been paused – for now.

MP for Loughborough the Honourable Jane Hunt has released a statement saying the home office has put a hold on finalising the agreement.  

Last week word got around the five – star Quorn Country Hotel, at one time a private members’ club with spacious panelled interiors and a venue for glamourous weddings for decades was cancelling bookings. 

Rumours spread the hotel was closing to fulfil a government contract. Speculation trended on social media it was to house asylum seekers; later confirmed.  

Weddings plans were in disarray and vitriol on sites like Facebook peaked. Claims Quorn would be over-run with ‘boat people’, house prices would crash and the hotel would never be forgiven or in a position to trade to the general public again culminated with criticism of the contract from MP for Loughborough Jane Hunt in Parliament. 

A statement released from the office of Jane Hunt MP said: “Following on from my previous statement, in which I set out why I am against the proposal to house asylum seekers in a hotel in Quorn, as well as the actions I have taken, I have now received an update from the Home Office to say that they have paused their consideration of using the hotel for asylum seekers and that they will keep me updated on any further developments.” 

 Before Christmas Prime Minister Rushi Sunak said it was unacceptable to spend £5.5 million a day on housing asylum seekers in hotels.  

He outlined plans to put 10,000 of the refugees in alternative sites including disused holiday homes, unused student halls and surplus military sites.  

“Our aim is to add thousands of places through this type of accommodation in the coming months, at half the cost of hotels,” said the Right Honourable Mr Sunak. 

Charnwood Press recalls the current exhibition on the arrival of the Ugandan Asians kicked out by dictator Idi Amin fifty years ago who were put into military bases in spartan dormitories and asks whether the U.K has changed since then and can find a reasonable compromise?  

The Quorn Country hotel is in fact quite small with only at last count around 25 rooms. It must be struggling for bookings to take this avenue and to put the whole business in jeopardy could be a stop – gap solution.