English village set to DOUBLE in size as hotel considered for housing migrants
Highgate House has been mooted as a location to house migrants
Image: Google Maps
A cabinet minister is fronting the charge against a hotel in his constituency being used as a future site for migrants.
The small village of just 50 in Creaton, Northamptonshire could see 400 migrants housed there.
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he is looking to collate local views “to submit to the Home Office for consideration”.
He described the plans for Highgate House hotel as “totally unsustainable”.
The Home Office announced it would not comment on individual cases.
In a statement, Heaton-Harris argued that the hotel is unsuitable for usage because of “the rural location, impact on medical services, the lack of transport links [and] lack of facilities”.
The local authority for the village, the West Northamptonshire Council are also said to have presented the Conservative MP for Daventry a “list of issues”.
Chris Heaton-Harris is leading the charge against the migrant hotel
Stefan Rousseau
Heaton-Harris claims the Home Office told him they would “be undertaking a further consultation before moving asylum seekers onto the site” ahead of its usage for migrants later this year.
The minister promised he would “continue to make the point to the Home Office that this is a dreadful choice of location for all concerned”.
The village of Creaton is around 13km north of Northampton, with a population of about 550.
Heaton-Harris said after a public meeting on the potential use of the hotel that residents could “submit their own concerns” which he will pass on to the Home Office.
A Home Office spokesperson would not confirm it was using the site but said in a statement: "The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.
"The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable, there are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6m a day.
"We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people."