Asylum seekers move to seaside

By Cathy Cooper

Hotel owners in Great Yarmouth are angry at plans to house 90 asylum seekers in a hotel at the resort.

The 36-bedroom Ambassador has signed a deal with the London Borough of Westminster as part of a wider initiative to shift asylum seekers to cheaper accommodation outside the capital.

Mike Canham, assistant director of housing, said: "We are really struggling to find hotels in London of a reasonable quality that are not too expensive."

He added that the authority was trying to spread the scheme between regions.

Forty-five people have already gone to two hotels in Southsea, Hampshire, and Worthing, Sussex, and a deal is being sought with a hotel in Thanet, Kent. Other areas and hotels are likely to follow.

The council pays for the accommodation and three meals a day.

Aileen Mobbs, a director of the Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority and joint owner of the Imperial Hotel, said most of the asylum seekers were unemployed. She feared that hotels next to the Ambassador, which would be classified as a "house of multiple occupation", would experience "more noise and mess".

She added: "We are desperately battling to get rid of Great Yarmouth's bad image and this is not doing anything to help."

But an official for the Ambassador hotel's owner said: "It is a well-justified move. We are in a fortunate position to provide an essential service."