Council doing 'all it can' to reopen Leominster asylum hotel

A council has said it is doing "all it can" to reopen a hotel used to accommodate asylum seekers after it was declared unsafe.

Leominster's Talbot Hotel had taken in families since August amid opposition, including that of MP Sir Bill Wiggin.

Earlier this month, however, the Home Office and scheme operator Serco said residents were being relocated due to "operational issues".

Herefordshire Council said it wanted to see the return of those placed there.

Some of the asylum-seeking families have been relocated as far away as Crewe and Grantham.

"The local community has welcomed families to Leominster and has been incredibly supportive and sensitive to their needs," Herefordshire Council chief executive Paul Walker told councillors on Friday.

"The hotel is not yet reopened and no one is occupying the building at the moment.

"But everyone involved is keen for those families who were originally placed at the Talbot to return to Leominster once the hotel is operational again, and we're doing all we can through the Home Office and Serco with the support of the local community to ensure that happens."

He added it was nevertheless the decision of the Home Office on whether the hotel was fit for purpose.

Chairman of the council Roger Phillips said: "I've also heard representations about some children that were going to the local schools and of course have had to be moved. Hopefully they'll come back."

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