Herefordshire Council say they’re doing “all they can” to get reopen the Talbot Hotel.
A group in Hereford, supporting asylum seekers in the county, have welcomed calls to reopen a hotel housing them.
The Talbot Hotel was commissioned by the Home Office to house asylum seekers from August.
But earlier this month, the Home Office and its operator Serco announced that its residents were being relocated due to “operational issues”.
Local partners say some have have been taken as far as Crewe and Grantham.
“The local community has welcomed families to Leominster and has been incredibly supportive and sensitive to their needs,” Herefordshire Council chief executive Paul Walker told county councillors on Friday (October 13).
Kathy Bland, from the Diocese of Hereford, says reopening the hotel as soon as possible is beneficial for all involved.
The group have been supporting asylum seekers in the region since they were brought to Leominster – providing them with food and clothes.
“On the day the hotel was closed, so essential work could be done, we got an email. A few of us went to the hotel and they were really scared. They were confused. They didn’t know what was going on or where they were going”, she said.
Kathy, who also runs a local foodbank, has contact with a few of the asylum seekers who told her they’ve been moved to locations with no local facilities – such as schools or communities – meaning they feel ‘trapped’.
She said: “It’s not up to the council if they can come back to the county, but we’re so happy Herefordshire Council have made such a strong stance on it – that they’re doing all they can to get it reopened and the asylum seekers back in.”
