News / immigration
Council has no plans against use of hotels for asylum seekers
Bristol City Council have confirmed that they have no plans to challenge the use of hotels in the city for housing asylum seekers.
Ever since a temporary High Court injunction on Tuesday blocked refugees from being housed in the Bell Hotel in Epping, councils across England are bracing for similar legal actions.
But in a statement to Bristol24/7, council leader Tony Dyer emphasised that as a City of Sanctuary, Bristol “will continue to support and show compassion to people when they need it most” even if hotels might not always be the “best way”.
is needed now More than ever
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Dyer explained: “Bristol is a long-established place of sanctuary. We are a diverse city and are proud to welcome and provide safety for people seeking sanctuary from a wide range of backgrounds.
“Hotel accommodation is not always the best way to meet the health and wellbeing needs of people seeking sanctuary and to help them integrate with existing communities.”
Dyer also highlighted the importance of “effective planning” when it comes to helping those seeking sanctuary, reducing inequalities and also ensuring all communities within the city feel supported. He expressed the council’s desire to work collaboratively in improving conditions for those seeking sanctuary to create “compassionate and resilient communities” in Bristol.
A glimpse of the council’s plans for Bristol as a City of Sanctuary can be found in a draft strategy that will be discussed in a council meeting on August 28.
As of November 2024, 853 of the 1,133 asylum seekers in Bristol were housed in hotels. The draft strategy, which will soon be put up for public consultation, outlines ways to support these asylum seekers into more stable accommodation.
Within its measures for preventing homelessness and access to accommodation, the document introduces a ‘housing move on’ worker, who will be tasked to support asylum seekers in moving out of the hotels that currently house them.
The draft strategy uses the term “sanctuary seekers” to refer to asylum seekers, refugees, those experiencing forced migration, people who have no access to public funds and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
An accompanying document titled Bristol Sanctuary Strategy 2025 to 2030 explains their efforts in understanding the needs of these sanctuary seekers when they arrive in a city like Bristol.
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Through engagement sessions held in a variety of languages with over 100 sanctuary seekers across the city, including those housed in hotels, the council have identified four areas of concern – access to housing, English language classes, access to legal advice and health services.
With these findings, the council now intends to refine their future strategy to keep Bristol’s “rich tradition” of being a City of Sanctuary alive.
Councillor Christine Townsend, chair of the Children and Young People Policy Committee, added: “Our city has been a place of sanctuary for hundreds of years, a place which has welcomed people from all over the world to find safety and rebuild lives. This draft strategy is aimed at ensuring that this rich tradition of being a city that supports others is maintained in a structured and compassionate way.
“For generations, some previous national policies, such as the ‘hostile environment’, have created division and made life harder for those seeking safety, whilst creating division in existing communities.
“This politics of division is not what we stand for and we will not tolerate the pitting of one community against another for any purpose.
“Through this strategy we want to be honest and transparent about how we will support those we have a legal and moral duty towards and how, as a compassionate city, we will continue to extend our welcome for those in need.”
In the background of the council’s efforts to renew Bristol’s promise as a City of Sanctuary, anti-migrant groups are planning to assemble in Castle Park for a “collective statement” against illegal migration.
A counter-protest to “defend our refugees” is planned to start at 10.30am, hours before the far-right protest planned to begin at midday.
All photos: Rob Browne
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