By St James Hotel reopens after cancelled Home Office takeover
St James Hotel has now reopened and is once again taking bookings following a six-week closure due to a government contract being withdrawn.
Back at the end of April, the hotel closed overnight, cancelling all of its bookings and events after Corus – who owns the hotel, stated that they had entered an exclusive government contract.
This contract would have seen asylum seekers detained inside the hotel, meaning detainees would have been guarded and the premises locked or the inmates under a curfew arrangement to return to the hotel at a designated time each day.
This move was met with widespread disapproval from town locals, who felt the hotel had treated them poorly and that the town centre was not an appropriate place to house asylum seekers.
A sign was placed on the door apologising for the inconvenience as the shutters were drawn overnight.
Following the backlash, Grimsby MP Lia Nici lobbied to Home Secretary Priti Patel to have the move reversed.
At the time Ms Nici said: “I think it [St James Hotel] is a wholly inappropriate place for asylum seekers to be put in a town center, in one building.”
She added that despite the public backlash, it was her own decision to lobby for this decision: “We’re regenerating the town center and I don’t think it’s an appropriate place for asylum seekers, especially if they’re going to be illegal asylum seekers.
“I think it would create issues such as public order issues that we could do without in the town.”
Three weeks ago a sign appeared on the door stating: “Opening soon. We look forward to opening our doors soon and welcoming you back.”
The statement added: “We are sorry for any inconvenience our closure has caused. Kind regards The St James Hotel Team.”
This morning the Minster View Lounge was open and busy serving guests while the hotel was once again taking bookings for events and rooms.
