A hotel in Stevenage has been sent a warning by the borough council that it must stop housing asylum seekers or it will face planning enforcement action, according to a leaked letter. Stevenage Borough Council appears to have told Fairview Hotels (Knebworth) Ltd, who own the Novotel near junction 7 of the A1(M), that they intend to issue a planning enforcement notice unless the company stops using the hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.
Planning officers at the Labour-run council believe the hotel’s use for asylum seekers means it is effectively a hostel – and the building only has permission to operate as a hotel, not a hostel. The hotel began to be used by the Home Office for asylum seekers in September 2022, when the previous Conservative government was in charge.
The council’s plans are detailed in a letter, dated June 16, which it is understood was sent by a senior council officer to Fairview Hotels (Knebworth) Ltd. The letter, which has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, reads: “Following an investigation into how [the Novotel] is being used … it is the council’s opinion that this represents a change of use from a hotel to a hostel without planning permission.
“This material change of use has not received planning permission and is not permitted development. It is the view of the council’s officers that it therefore constitutes a breach of planning control. The planning authority has issued a Planning Contravention Notice and proposes to serve an Enforcement Notice unless the council can be satisfied that the unlawful use of the site will cease in a satisfactory timescale.
“The council acknowledges the vulnerability of asylum seekers and potential impacts on children and families. However, the current accommodation is unsuitable for long-term living and enforcement is in the public interest if an agreement to end the current use cannot be reached.”
In the letter, the council gives Fairview Hotels Ltd until June 25 to respond before it looks to begin enforcement proceedings. Planning enforcement notices, which can be appealed, set out steps that must be taken to rectify a breach of planning control. According to the leaked letter, the hotel booking is paid for by Clearsprings Ready Homes, a company that has a contract with the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.
Richard Henry, the leader of Stevenage Borough Council, said the council is “seeking discussions with the owner of the Novotel regarding concerns that a change of planning use may have taken place”. He continued: “This concerns me greatly and I believe it is right to seek further information.
“Following any discussions the council will consider what options it has available. Over the last few years, since the previous government imposed this on local councils, I have shared my view that large scale hotels or hostels are not an appropriate place for anyone to live for an extended length of time and always encourage more sustainable solutions where proper support is available.”
In 2022, shortly after the Novotel began being used to house asylum seekers, Stevenage borough councillors unanimously backed a motion, proposed by then leader Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, that said: “We have made clear to the Home Office that using the Novotel as accommodation to temporarily house asylum seekers is not appropriate and that we could not support this location being used.”
Some councils have previously sought to stop hotels in their areas being used to house asylum seekers by requesting legal injunctions, rather than issuing planning enforcement notices. They have been met with mixed success in the High Court. Ipswich Borough Council argued in 2022 that a Fairview-owned hotel would be operating as a hostel – but a judge rejected their injunction application, saying that the council had not shown that the proposed use would cause “substantial planning harm”. Evidence of harm could have shown that the change of use was “material”, and therefore subject to action preventing it being used for that purpose.
In the letter sent this week, Stevenage Borough Council has set out reasons why it believes any change of use at the Novotel is “material” – including the economic impact of the “loss” of the hotel, issues with infrastructure and accessibility, highway safety, and the quality of the accommodation.
Officers have pointed to its “unsustainable” location, with no pedestrian, cycle or public transport links; the “serious safety risk” from Novotel residents crossing the A1(M) junction on foot; and rooms that are “not designed for long-term living”, with limited space and privacy as well as noise from the A1(M) next door.
In claiming that the hotel is now acting as a hostel, the council has pointed to a number of factors, including:
- The building acts as the home of asylum seekers
- Residents rely “heavily” on local services, including healthcare and education
- Length of stays are determined by the asylum process, not by the guest
- Residents are transient – they are placed there until other accommodation becomes available or they are refused asylum
- No charges are made for meals
- The kitchen is “mothballed”, with hot meals brought in by a catering company
- Conference facilities are not used, with spaces used instead for storing mattresses and mini-fridges
- The bar is permanently closed
- The hotel is block booked by a single client and cannot be booked by anybody else
- Payments are made by agents (Clearsprings Ready Homes) on behalf of a public body (the Home Office)
A spokesperson for Kevin Bonavia, Stevenage’s Labour MP, said they “wouldn’t want to speculate on ongoing planning matters” but added: “We would point people to Kevin’s years of campaigning, backed up by the Stevenage Labour party, to return asylum hotels to regular use after the last Conservative government’s … decisions broke the asylum system, housed asylum seekers in local hotels against the will of our community, and cost our taxpayers millions of pounds.
“It continues to be our view that using hotels for this purpose is clearly and obviously an unjust, unsuitable and unfair practice for all involved. Our community wants this to end.”
Mr Bonavia has previously said that “until we get hotels returned to our community” he “will advocate every day [for a] focus on Stevenage” in government plans to speed up the processing of asylum claims. In last week’s government spending review, chancellor Rachel Reeves said taxpayer-funded hotels would stop being used for asylum seekers by 2029.
According to the National Audit Office, accommodation for asylum seekers in 2023/24 was expected to cost UK taxpayers £4.7bn. As of last summer, 290 asylum seekers were housed in Stevenage hotels, including the Novotel near the A1(M) and the Ibis in the town centre. Both hotels are owned by Fairview Hotels.
Fairview Hotels Ltd declined to comment. Clearsprings Ready Homes did not respond to a request for comment. The Home Office was contacted for comment.
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