The Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale is to stop housing asylum seekers within three months, Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand has confirmed, after the Home Office informed Trafford Council of the decision.
The hotel has accommodated asylum seekers since February 2023, following a decision by the then-Conservative government.
Its use proved controversial from the outset, with then-MP Sir Graham Brady describing it as the "most obviously inappropriate location you could imagine".
Rand, who succeeded Brady as MP following the 2024 general election, said he had repeatedly lobbied the government to end the arrangement, including meetings with the Home Secretary.
"While I'm proud to represent such a diverse and welcoming place, using hotels to house asylum seekers is a sign of a broken system," he said.
"It's bad for taxpayers, bad for community cohesion and bad for the people seeking asylum."
The Ashley Hotel's use has attracted protests, and last October a convicted paedophile wanted by German authorities was arrested at the site by National Crime Agency officers - an incident which Rand, Greater Manchester Police and Trafford Council said they had not been informed of in advance.
The announcement follows a major parliamentary report published last October by the Home Affairs Committee - on which Rand sits - which condemned the Home Office's "chaotic" approach to asylum accommodation.
The report found that hotel use had proven "unpopular with local communities and largely unsuitable for accommodating asylum seekers", and called for hotels causing the greatest community harm to be prioritised for closure.
The Ashley Hotel's closure to asylum seekers leaves the Cresta Court in Altrincham town centre as the remaining local hotel in use for this purpose.
The Cresta Court has been closed to the public since October 2024 and is believed to house up to 300 asylum seekers. It has been the target of regular protests, particularly on Friday evenings.
Rand said the government remained committed to closing the Cresta Court as well. "Labour will return all asylum hotels to their normal use, including the Cresta Court, as we build an immigration and asylum system that is fair, controlled and compassionate," he said.
The MP also took aim at local political opponents, accusing Conservative and Reform politicians of exploiting the issue. "I will always stand against their performative and divisive politics," he said.
Nationally, the number of asylum hotels has fallen to 185 following the closure of eleven sites - down from a peak of around 400 under the previous Conservative government, when more than 56,000 people were being housed in hotels.
The number of asylum seekers in hotels now stands at 20,800, down from 30,657 in December. The Labour government has promised to end hotel use entirely by July 2029.
