An office building a few meters from a city’s main street could be turned into a home for asylum seekers.
Overlooking the River Medway, the former Medway County and Family Court is located just off Chatham High Street in Kent. Home Office officials are considering taking over the 11-storey block that was the subject of proposals last year to convert it into 81 residential studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments.
As well as being the former home of two courts, the building was also used to house HM Revenue and Customs, reportedly earning it the local nickname of the “Chatham Tax Office”.
The large building has dominated the local waterfront and nearby older high street buildings since the 1960s and in 2006 Medway Council was said to have said its demolition would be “desirable”, reports local building magazine Future Chatham.
The large building has dominated the local waterfront and nearby older high street buildings since the 1960s and in 2006 Medway Council was said to have said its demolition would be “desirable”, reports local building magazine Future Chatham.
Now the most recent transformations of the office buildings can accommodate some of the 37,000 asylum seekers who are being accommodated in hotels at the taxpayer’s expense.
Kent Online reports that Kelly Tolhurst, Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood, said Anchorage House was a “completely unsuitable location” for housing asylum seekers.
She told the publication: “The Department of the Interior has confirmed that Anchorage House has been put forward by their contractors Clearsprings as a potential site to use for housing asylum seekers.
“I have made it clear to officials from the Home Office and the Minister of Immigration that I object to this site being used for that purpose, the site is not appropriate and it is a totally inappropriate location.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK requiring accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain.
“The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently over 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day.
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“The use of hotels is a temporary solution and we are working hard with the local authorities to find suitable accommodation.”
“There are currently over 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6 million a day. The cost of accommodating Afghans in transitional hotels is £1.2 million a day…”
All people detained at the detention center were moved to new accommodation, The Guardian reported, with the government believed to have bought space in hotels.
A statement from the Home Office read: “There are currently more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £5.6m a day. The cost of accommodating Afghans in bridge hotels is £1.2m a day .
“We engage with local authorities as early as possible when sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure the arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people
“We continue to ensure that the accommodation offered is safe, does not leave anyone in need and is suitable for an individual’s needs.
“Hotels are a short-term solution to the global migration crisis and we are working hard to find suitable dispersed accommodation for migrants, asylum seekers and Afghan refugees as soon as possible. We urge local authorities to do everything possible to accommodate people .” permanent.”
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