Inside the new battle to close The Metropole Hotel for asylum seekers

PLUS: Campaigners believe Wyre has not been fully explored as an alternative route for windfarm cabling

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

Though the reasons behind the sentiment differ wildly, there is an agreement that The Metropole should not be used to home asylum seekers.

Many simply believe that as a country, we are too welcoming to people fleeing persecution or war. Others recognise the need to provide safety but point to the fact the hotel is crumbling and that a visual home for all asylum seekers is not helpful.

Whatever your view, a legal decision in Epping Forest this week is likely to result in a legal challenge from Blackpool Council - and other authorities - which will require a plan from the government.

We also look at a campaign in Fylde to prevent cabling from being ran through the area. Campaigners believe that Wyre would be a cheaper option.

End of use of troubled Metropole Hotel for asylum seekers moves forward

The Metropole Hotel

By Luke Beardsworth

Blackpool Council is expected to pursue legal action to end the use of the Metropole Hotel for asylum seekers.

A court ruling this week granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction preventing The Bell Hotel being used for that purpose.

The domino effect from this has seen councils across the UK - many of them operated by Labour - confirm that they are taking legal advice about a similar move.

The Metropole has been used to house migrants - operated by the much-maligned Britannia group - since September 2021 when the Conservative government introduced the idea during Covid.

Blackpool Council has been vocal against the hotel being used for that purpose since then and reiterated that to The Blackpool Lead last month.

A spokesperson for Blackpool Council said this week: “Since the start of the use of The Metropole for this purpose, we’ve been clear that it is not a suitable location for asylum seekers fleeing abuse and persecution. We believe this use should be brought to an end as soon as possible.

“The Metropole in Blackpool is different to the hotel in Epping in a number of ways. The hotel here is one of only a few that is home to families, rather than single males who might be sharing rooms.

“We are carefully reviewing the interim judgement issued yesterday regarding the site in Epping, and the potential impacts of the ruling, before deciding on our next steps.”

There are similarities and differences between The Bell Hotel and The Metropole.

The factors taken into account when the Epping Forest decision was made included the fact that The Bell is not a hotel for those who have been placed there. While residents and local politicians appear united in their view that The Metropole should not be used for asylum seekers, the asylum seekers themselves appear unhappy in what was always a problematic site.

But also taken into account was the fear of crime as a result of the decision to use The Bell for that purpose, although the judge said that it was limited. There have been instances of crime at The Metropole - but the biggest spike was in August 2024 and the data does not say that it was committed by an occupant or a member of the public.

The scale of lawful protest was also taken into account, particularly in light of the fact that three people homed at The Bell Hotel had been arrested. The judge said this was a legitimate cause for public concern. But any unlawful protest - where there is violence for example - was given limited weight.

There is also the question of where the asylum seekers will be housed instead while their asylum claim is processed - something which it is agreed needs to be done much more rapidly.

Cllr Paul Galley, the Conservative leader of the opposition at Blackpool Council, appeared unbowed by the fact it was his national party that introduced asylum seekers to The Metropole.

He said: “Following the recent court decision preventing a hotel being used to house migrants, I am calling once again on Blackpool Council Leader, Cllr Lynn Williams, to show the same leadership and urgently seek a similar injunction against the use of the Metropole Hotel.

“Residents in Blackpool deserve the same protections and clarity that have been delivered in Epping Forest. Instead, what we have seen from Labour-run Blackpool Council is delay, vague comments, and an attempt to downplay the issue.

“The line that “the situation is different” because the Metropole houses families rather than single men is simply not good enough. Whether families or individuals, the fact remains: the use of our hotels to house migrants is not a sustainable or acceptable solution.

“Our community is already under immense strain. Housing is at breaking point, healthcare services are stretched to the limit, and our schools are under growing pressure. The residents of Blackpool have a right to expect their Council to act decisively, not to simply “keep an eye on developments.”

“I am therefore calling on Cllr Lynn Williams to stop sidestepping scrutiny and take visible, proactive steps by seeking an immediate injunction on the Metropole Hotel.”

Cllr Lynn Williams hit back and said: “To suggest that Blackpool Council has been passive is both inaccurate and misleading. Since 2021, the Council has consistently opposed the use of the Metropole for asylum accommodation and engaged with police, NHS, and public health to assess and mitigate local impact.

“Blackpool Council is not “sidestepping scrutiny”; it is working within its legal powers to challenge the use of this site to accommodate vulnerable families.

“As we have said, the recent interim High Court decision regarding the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest is being carefully reviewed by my officers. However, it is essential to understand that legal action must be based on planning law and local context, not political posturing or populist pressure.

“Pressure which is especially galling when the use of this hotel for this purpose– in common with most of those in use up and down the country, began under Conservative national leadership.

“At that time almost four years ago, Councillor Galley, indeed the Conservative Group, had absolutely nothing to say. He now says that housing, healthcare and schools are under significant strain, yet never made those comments during the 14 years of Tory cuts.

She added; “In Epping—violent protests, criminal charges, and planning breaches were central to the injunction—not, as it is specifically referenced in the judgement, impact on local services and amenities.

“The Council (Blackpool)l has consistently raised concerns about the suitability of the Metropole to support Asylum Seekers, and has already taken steps to challenge its use.

“This hotel is the wrong solution in the wrong place, we will work with and challenge the Government to come up with a better answer to the question. “

One person who has not offered a public opinion on the legal decision at Epping Forest is Blackpool South MP Chris Webb.

He has, on a number of occasions, voiced his own opposition to the Metropole being used for the purpose it is now, citing both the conditions the asylum seekers have to live in and inappropriateness of its central location.

The Blackpool Lead understands Webb is awaiting a response from the Home Office regarding recent issues at the hotel.

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Run cables to Wyre instead of Fylde, say windfarm campaigners

Plans for off-shore wind farms

By Michael Holmes

Plugging the power from two new offshore windfarms into the national grid at Wyre instead of Fylde could save £900m, campaigners have claimed.

The government’s Planning Inspectorate is in the process of probing plans to run cables from the proposed Morecambe and Morgan windfarms - set to be built about 19 miles off the Fylde coast - underground from the beach near Blackpool Airport through about 18 and a half miles of Fylde countryside to a substation in Penwortham near Preston.

But there have been calls to instead run them about 1.5 miles to the Hillhouse Technology Enterprise Zone and Stanah - with the campaign group Fylde Against Cable Transmission And Substations (Facts) saying the switch would save close to £1bn.

Facts chairman Phil Morgan told The Blackpool Lead that going through Wyre rather than Fylde would allow existing overhead cabling to be used and come with a host of other benefits too.