It's been confirmed that the Cresta Court Hotel has closed in order to house asylum seekers.
We revealed last night that the Altrincham hotel had suddenly closed its doors for a period of 12 months, with all existing bookings and parties cancelled without warning.
And this morning we can confirm that the hotel - which has been a fixture of the town centre's hospitality scene since the 1970s - has agreed a deal with Serco, which manages asylum seeker housing for the Home Office. The decision is out of Trafford Council's hands.
With effect from this morning, the hotel is not taking any bookings and its website is no longer live.
The number of asylum seekers set to move into the hotel has not been confirmed, but it's likely that the majority of the hotel's 148 bedrooms would be shared by two people, meaning the total number is probably close to 300.
The future of a number of jobs at the hotel is also likely to be under threat, although we're yet to receive official confirmation from the hotel's owner, Vine Hotels.
The Best Western Cresta Court was acquired by Vine Hotels - which is owned by Greg Dyke, the former director general of the BBC and former chairman of the FA - last year.
Its portfolio of hotels includes the Best Western The Dartmouth Hotel and Best Western Abbots Barton in Canterbury, both of which have previously been used to house migrants.
We've reached out to Vine Hotels for a comment but have yet to receive a reply.
Connor Rand MP, who was elected to the Altrincham and Sale West seat in July, said he had written to the government minister with responsibility for asylum to request that claims were processed “quickly”.
He said: "I am proud to represent a constituency as diverse and tolerant as Altrincham and Sale West. However, I understand that there will be residents who have concerns about the private agreement reached between Best Western and Serco to temporarily house asylum seekers in Cresta Court Hotel.
“I have today written to the Minister responsible for asylum to ask what steps they are taking to process these claims quickly and to ask what support the Government will be providing to our community to deal with any increased demand on local services that this decision will bring. I will update residents when I receive response.
“As residents will know, this is not the first time a hotel in our community has needed to be used for this purpose. This is a result of the huge backlog that has developed in our asylum system over the last 14 years, with the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claim increasing from 19,000 to almost 119,000.
“This Government is committed to a fair and controlled asylum system and work is underway to hire the caseworkers needed to clear the asylum backlog, end the use of asylum hotels and fix the broken asylum system we inherited, but this will take time. In the meantime, I will push the Home Office to get the claims of those in the Cresta Court Hotel processed as quickly as possible, so this situation can be resolved."
Cllr Michael Welton, ward councillor for Altrincham and the leader of Trafford Green Party, said the news had come as a "surprise", and that he had first heard rumours of the move on Sunday.
He said: "It has come as a surprise to hear the Cresta Court will be used to house asylum seekers. This is a private agreement between Serco (under contract with the Home Office) and the owners of the Cresta Court.
"It will be important to ensure that support is in place for the local community and to meet the needs of the hotel’s new residents.
"We will be working with the council and local community groups to make sure that everyone is cared for properly, no matter where they have come from or how they arrived here.
"We don't want to see anyone housed in hotels for long periods. We need a fast and fair system for dealing with asylum claims.
"Government also needs to allow people to work while their claims are being dealt with."
Cllr Welton said he would be meeting with local MP, Connor Rand, to discuss the situation later today.
Trafford Council confirmed that it had been informed by the Home Office that it would be "temporarily" housing asylum seekers at the Cresta Court.
The spokesperson said: “The Home Office has informed us that it will be temporarily housing a number of asylum seekers in Altrincham.
"This is a Home Office decision and not a Council one but we will be supporting the asylum seekers with their immediate needs, including healthcare and safeguarding.”
It's the second hotel in the Altrincham area to be used to house migrants.
In February 2023, the Britannia Ashley Hotel was closed down for public use and used to house over 100 migrants, with the majority still there 20 months on.
