A councillor has demanded a hotel used by asylum seekers be closed down ‘immediately’ after failing to change its use.

Cllr Alan Amos said the Fownes Hotel in Worcester should be closed because it is being used as a hostel without planning permission.

The Bedwardine county councillor’s comments come after we revealed asylum seekers are being housed unlawfully at the former glove factory in City Walls Road.

CONTROVERSIAL: An anti-immigration protest outside the Fownes Hotel in City Walls Road in Worcester last month(Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)

Planning permission was granted on the basis that the hotel was being expanded, not a hostel for asylum seekers, said Cllr Amos.

The hostel became the focus for an immigration protest and counter-protest which resulted in seven arrests, including for assaults on police officers, breach of the peace and public order offences.

According to Home Office figures in the Worcester area, there was an increase in asylum seekers with 93 housed in city hotels as of March, rising to 117 in June.

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Cllr Amos wrote to David Blake, chief executive of Worcester City Council, calling for action by the planning department against the Fownes Hotel on Friday, August 22.

In his letter, Cllr Amos cited the ruling for Epping Forest, formally asking Mr Blake to instruct the planning department to initiate action against the owners of the Fownes Hotel for change of use.

ACTION: Cllr Alan Amos wants the Fownes Hotel closed ‘immediately'(Image: James Connell/Newsquest photos)

He wrote: “The Fownes was built solely as a hotel, not as a holding place for asylum seekers to be housed elsewhere in Worcester or elsewhere in the country.”

A spokesperson for Worcester City Council said in a previous statement: “Over a period of time we have been keeping a watching brief on the activities at the Fownes Hotel and have given due consideration to where public interest lies and whether there has been any adverse impact on the amenity of the site or the surrounding area.

“We will always act in a proportionate manner and have due regard to the potential impact of those affected by any proposed action.”

Cllr Alex Mace of the Green Party said: “I agree with Councillor Amos: the Fownes Hotel should be closed as soon as possible.

“The Conservative Party, which Councillor Amos used to be a member of, effectively stopped processing asylum applications and wasted millions of pounds on housing asylum applicants in hotels.

“The Government needs to quickly, fairly and justly clear the backlog, and resource the courts to deal with appeals. As the backlog is cleared, the need to house applicants will disappear and the hotel can be closed.

“The residents in the Fownes Hotel aren’t the reason local people can’t get housing, it is the sale of council homes under Right to Buy, and prevention of building of new council homes. Both Conservatives and Reform support that continuing.

“The Fownes Hotel residents represent less than 0.2% of the population of Worcester. The only winners from this mess are big businesses like Serco, and their friends in the Conservative and Reform parties. Refugees and asylum seekers are welcome in Worcester.”

Worcester News has attempted to offer the owners of the Fownes Hotel a right to reply but no contact details are publicly available.