The Holiday Inn in Bridgwater, Somerset, which has been housing asylum seekers for several years, is set to close and return to regular hospitality use. This closure is part of a wider government initiative to reduce reliance on hotels for asylum accommodation, following a significant decrease in the number of people crossing the English Channel to seek refuge in the UK.
As one of 13 hotels nationwide to cease functioning as asylum centres in this third wave of closures this year, the Bridgwater hotel will be handed back to its owners and local community. This allows the property either to resume functioning as a standard hotel or to be repurposed for other local needs.
The hotel’s use as a temporary asylum centre sparked political debate in the House of Commons last autumn. Bridgwater’s Conservative MP, Sir Ashley Fox, criticised the previous Labour Government’s decision to accommodate asylum seekers in hotels and called for an end to this practice. In response, then Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood pointed out that the Conservative Party had initiated this policy, emphasising the current government’s commitment to ending hotel use by the end of the current parliamentary term.
READ MORE: Somerset Council’s Planned Parking Charges Raise Concerns Among Local Communities
READ MORE: Beloved Dorset Theme Park Closes After a Decade, Now Unrecognisable
Plans for far-right protests against the asylum hotel during the summer were eventually cancelled upon discovering the property housed families with young children. The hotel drew attention on social media after a planned peaceful protest by a group calling themselves “proud, patriotic citizens of England” was called off at short notice.
The closure of 13 asylum hotels this year adds to the 19 closures announced in June and 11 in April, making a total of 43 closures in 2026 alone. Several factors have enabled these measures: a substantial reduction in Channel crossings, accelerated processing of asylum claims, and a strategic shift towards accommodating asylum seekers in military bases and shared housing rather than hotels.
So far in 2026, 14,819 people have crossed the Channel-a 43% decrease compared to the previous year. This decline coincides with organised smuggling gangs switching to larger vessels, resulting in fewer crossing attempts.
The government has also made progress in reducing the backlog of asylum claims, which previously necessitated prolonged temporary accommodation. While the current average wait time for an asylum decision stands at 67 weeks, the government has set a new target to reduce this to 24 weeks. This acceleration is expected to lessen the demand for hotel housing.
A government spokesperson highlighted that faster processing will diminish delays, expedite removals, and reduce reliance on taxpayer-funded accommodation, thereby lowering costs for the public.
Since the Labour Government assumed office in July 2024, a record number of asylum decisions have been made, with nearly 70,000 individuals removed from the UK.
The closure of the Bridgwater Holiday Inn allows the hotel to return to its core business or be adapted for uses that better support the local community, including boosting the town centre economy and local employment.
These closures are part of Home Secretary plans to enhance border security and ensure a fairer immigration system by addressing incentives for illegal migration and increasing removals of those without the right to remain.
Looking ahead, the government plans to utilise vacant Ministry of Defence bases to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. Sites such as MOD Bicester in Oxfordshire and two others in the east are under consideration, potentially accommodating up to 3,750 individuals.
Immigration Minister Anna Turley remarked, “Communities in the South West have endured seeing hotels in their towns symbolise a broken asylum system. We are reversing this by ending the use of asylum hotels and moving towards larger, basic accommodation at former military sites.”
The latest closures are projected to save taxpayers £51 million, contributing to a total of £224 million saved in 2026 alone. These savings build on nearly £1 billion cut from asylum accommodation costs since the 2024 general election. This progress contrasts sharply with the peak in 2023, when 400 asylum hotels operated at a cost of £9 million per day. The Home Secretary’s reforms are driving these changes to address an asylum system under considerable pressure.