Sir Bill Wiggin, Member of Parliament for North Herefordshire, has voiced his concerns over plans to use the Talbot Hotel in Leominster to house asylum seekers.
Bill also clarified that no final decision had yet been taken on whether to use the site.
In response to the objection Bill raised with the Home Office to the plans, a letter sent by the Asylum Accommodation Engagement Team said:
“Firstly, we should highlight that no final decision has been taken yet on the use of this site. In the coming weeks we will be using Multi Agency Forums to allow the local authority, police, health services, education and any other relevant stakeholders to meet with representatives from both Serco, (our accommodation provider for the area) and the Home Office to discuss these proposals.”
Bill said:
“As you can read in the letter which was sent to me, no final decision has been made on whether to use the Talbot Hotel to house asylum seekers.
“I have already written in objection to these plans, to which I received the attached response.
“I have also spoken to the Minister for Immigration and the Council to voice my strong concerns.
“I am not confident that Leominster has the infrastructure or the sort of accommodation that we would need and expect for housing asylum seekers.
“Leominster does not have the social service provision and quality of infrastructure that can be found in larger cities.
“Whatever you feel about these people, we need to make sure that the Home Office do not make matters worse in our communities.”
