Hull Labour councillors believe acquiring the Royal Hotel could be ‘a catalyst for improving the area’
The Royal Hotel off Ferensway, Hull(Image: Donna Clifford / Hull Live)
Hull Labour councillors are calling on the Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire to use his combined authority’s influence and funding to buy a prominent city centre hotel. It comes after local MPs said they were “very optimistic” a decision will soon be made to stop the Royal Hotel being used to house asylum seekers.
The Labour Group on Hull City Council are calling for the purchase of the Ferensway venue, by Hull Paragon Interchange, to serve as a catalyst for regenerating the area. They are calling on Luke Campbell (Reform UK) to use Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA) funding to work with local business partners to secure the hotel’s future.
“We’re calling on the Mayor to use his influence and funds, perhaps alongside local business partners, to purchase the building from its current owners, and for it to be a catalyst for improving the area,” said Cllr Daren Hale (Labour – St Andrews and Docklands Ward).
“This would be a great opportunity to use his mayoral powers to act for Hull’s visitor economy, especially with Hull City returning to the Premier League and the city increasingly becoming a destination for visitors.” Labour councillors have previously expressed concern that the Royal Hotel’s use to house asylum seekers was unsuitable. This included being due to limited amenities for those accommodated in it, such as no outdoor grounds.
Labour’s deputy group leader Cllr Sharon Hofman (Bricknell) outlined the concern leading to the purchase call, saying there is a worry the venue may not operate as a commercial hotel going forward and could instead be used for short-term contracted accommodation, adding: “We are worried by what this might mean for our city centre, and we’re asking for this discussion with Britannia Hotels to begin as soon as possible.”
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Royal Hotel’s use to house asylum seekers to end?
For now, the Royal Hotel remains accommodation to house asylum seekers. However, the Labour Government is reducing the number of hotels used for such means, with the aim to have closed all opened under the previous Government by the end of the Parliament.
Last month, the Home Office announced 20 more hotels were no longer used for such a purpose. Hull’s MPs also met Immigration Minister Alex Norris to reiterate the case for the Royal Hotel Hull to stop being used.
In a joint statement, Labour MPs Dame Diana Johnson (Hull North and Cottingham ) and Emma Hardy (Hull West and Haltemprice) expressed their optimism of an “early decision” to end the use of the Royal Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.
Hull Live contacted the Mayor via HEYCA and Britannia Hotels for comment.
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