{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreidniy6rbwbnnycgb6f6jqj6fetzr3rzf2nbuzzptf2heh43w7meb4",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:oznbnvgr7dmvddiyvr7dih52/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfhcpdsmuvw2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreigxt27gunh42tbexmw2hnzthlt7at4qhfbd7hfni77ghnwijtzaly"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 58626
  },
  "path": "/news/migrant-crisis-banbury-oxfordshire-moved-out-hotel",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-22T13:17:47.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "RNLI's £200 fundraiser plea sparks protest over fears money will fund 'taxi service' for small boats",
    "Crowborough local 'astounded' after children made to write Valentine's cards to asylum seekers",
    "The biggest barrier to Nigel Farage’s plan of deporting 500,000 illegal migrants",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe Banbury House Hotel in Oxfordshire has ceased operating as asylum seeker accommodation this week, with occupants transferred to alternative housing under a mandatory relocation scheme.\n\nThe three-star Georgian property in the market town had been repurposed to house small boat migrants awaiting decisions on their claims since 2022.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nResidents were observed departing the premises on February 18.\n\nThose previously staying at the hotel have been dispersed to unspecified locations elsewhere, with the relocation implemented on a \"no choice\" basis.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe closure forms part of the Government's commitment to end the use of all migrant hotels by 2029, with ministers favouring \"more suitable sites\", including military bases to reduce expenditure and alleviate pressure on local communities.\n\nLocal residents had voiced concerns about the hotel's change of use, with some claiming the presence of asylum seekers had significantly affected the area.\n\nJames Douglas, a 44-year-old business owner living in Banbury, told the Mail that the Oxfordshire town was \"not the right place\" to accommodate migrants, adding there had been a \"marked drop in tourist footfall\" since the arrangement began.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTom Reck, a 76-year-old former soldier, expressed similar reservations about the impact on the neighbourhood.\n\nHe described feeling \"unsafe\" and said conditions were \"a bit frightening even in the daytime with men drinking and shouting\".\n\nThe hotel is now expected to resume its original function as tourist accommodation, four years after first being converted for use by the Home Office.\n\nSean Woodcock, the Labour MP for Banbury, welcomed the development.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * RNLI's £200 fundraiser plea sparks protest over fears money will fund 'taxi service' for small boats\n  * Crowborough local 'astounded' after children made to write Valentine's cards to asylum seekers\n  * The biggest barrier to Nigel Farage’s plan of deporting 500,000 illegal migrants\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"I am pleased that The Banbury House Hotel has stopped hosting asylum seekers as of this week, as the government's commitments to reduce the costs of accommodation for asylum seekers is being seen in our local area,\" he said.\n\nThe Labour MP acknowledged the legal obligation to provide suitable housing for those awaiting decisions on their asylum applications.\n\nHowever, Mr Woodcock noted that hotel use across the country had generated \"a number of issues\".\n\n\"[Hotels] are not suitable for claimants as long term accommodation and it causes a significant strain on the public finances,\" Mr Woodcock added.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe characterised the move to cheaper alternative housing as progress toward \"ending the excessive asylum spending and major strain in the system left behind by the previous Government\".\n\nDespite the Government's stated ambition to phase out hotel accommodation for asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament, official figures suggest the challenge remains substantial.\n\nHome Office data revealed that the number of people housed in migrant hotels actually rose during 2025, climbing from 32,041 in June to 36,273 by September.\n\nThis represented an increase compared with the equivalent period in 2024, when 35,628 asylum seekers were recorded as staying in hotel accommodation.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe statistics highlight the scale of the task facing ministers as they seek to transition away from hotel use toward alternative sites, even as individual closures such as The Banbury House Hotel proceed.\n\nGB News has also revealed that local councils have been expressing an interest in housing asylum seekers in newly revamped council houses.\n\nBanbury, which is covered by Cherwell, confirmed it has not expressed an interest in the Home Office's pilot scheme.\n\nHowever, nearby Oxford City Council and West Oxfordshire District Council did opt in to the scheme.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Asylum seekers moved out of £2.3m hotel in posh town after locals reveal 'frightening' experience"
}