Asylum seekers will NOT be housed in a Bolton hotel, an MP has said.

The Bolton News reported exclusively last week how the town could not cope with more asylum seekers, urging for a fairer distribution after it emerged that the Mercure Georgian House had offered its facilities to the Home Office.

Now Bolton West MP Chris Green has spoken with the Minister of State for Migration over the plans, which were in their very early negotiations, for hotel on the A6.

Mr Green was approached by Bolton Council regarding the issue last week and yesterday, Monday October 3, held talks with Tom Pursglove MP.

He said that Mr Pursglove subsequently agreed to shut the plans down.

Mr Green said: “Following my conversation with the Minister, I can confirm that this proposal is not going ahead.

The Bolton News: Bolton West MP Chris GreenBolton West MP Chris Green (Image: Office of Chris Green MP)

“Having discussed this matter with the leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Martyn Cox, it was clear that this proposal would have negatively impacted the local community and placed additional strain on local schools and GP services which do not have extra capacity.

“The proposed hotel is also isolated from any local amenities and shops and is not accessible by public transport. 

“Bolton already does its fair share to support asylum seekers and I am pleased that the Minister has listened to these local concerns.”

Mercure Bolton Georgian House earmarked for asylum seekers

In the meeting, Mr Green MP shared residents’ concerns and set out that the proposal was inappropriate for the area.

He also showed the minister the front page of Monday’s edition of The Bolton News, which contains the story.

The borough currently hosts more than 800 asylum seekers, placed in the borough via the government’s dispersal programme.

Bolton has consistently hosted more asylum seekers than almost any other borough in England, with numbers frequently above 1,000 - the council is calling on the government to get other towns to play their part.

By contrast, the entire South West region of England houses just 1,300 asylum seekers combined.

Leader of Bolton Council Martyn Cox said: “I’m really pleased with the result.

“I’m glad the immigration minister that Chris has spoken to has listened to concerns and has seen sense.

“They have realised that the hotel was wholly inappropriate, and that Bolton was also wholly inappropriate, particularly given all that the town does for asylum seekers.”

The Bolton News: Leader of Bolton Council Cllr Martyn CoxLeader of Bolton Council Cllr Martyn Cox (Image: Martyn Cox)

The Mercure reiterated its stance that it does not comment on individual bookings.

The Home Office also confirmed its previous statment still stands, and will not be commenting on operational arrangements for individual sites used for asylum accommodation.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18