Council boss calls for fairness after Bolton hotel asylum seekers bid is dodged

TOWN Hall has renewed its call for a 'fair and equitable distribution' of asylum seekers and refugees across the country after it emerged the Government tried to earmark a Bolton hotel used to house the homeless for those seeking sanctuary in the UK.

Acting leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Martyn Cox now urging the Home Office not to see the town as its first port of call when it comes to housing asylum seekers.

He warned the burden of supporting a disproportionate number of those fleeing to UK shores could affect the future growth of Bolton.

Cllr Cox said that the borough needed time and space to integrate those who had been placed in Bolton

Just last week Bolton Council successfully fought off plans by the Home Office to procure the Britannia Hotel â€" used to provide emergency accommodation for local people and families â€" for asylum seekers.

"The reality is that Bolton and Rochdale have taken in more people seeking asylum than the whole of the south East region, that does not include London," said Cllr Cox who said the issue over the hotel brought into sharp focus the risks of housing asylum seekers in a handful of towns.

He said: "We received a message from the Home Office asking if we can take in asylum seekers. We responded we have done a huge amount over the years to support those asylum seekers, many who are actually not seeking sanctuary but are in fact economic migrants, and Bolton just cannot take in anymore.

"When we were told the Home Office had procured, through Serco, the Britannia Hotel and asylum seekers were going to be place in that hotel we called for a meeting and explained that in effect the Home Office would be turfing out homeless people. Once we put this argument forward the Home Office backed down. I am pleased the Home Office official listened.

"The wider point is not that the Britannia Hotel was inappropriate to house asylum seekers, but that Bolton has done more than its fair share.

"The Government needs to give Bolton time and space to assimilate the people we have taken in so different cultures can integrate and blend and become one community â€" not a series of separate communities where tensions are stoked and regeneration becomes more difficult.

"People seeking asylum are not allowed to work, so their ability to contribute to our town and services is limited.

"I am desperate to regenerate this town, transform its fortunes. To turn Bolton into a successful town with a thriving centre we need stability in the population and a community which is able to contribute.

"We are asking for a fair and equitable distribution of asylum seekers and that the Home Office does not consider Bolton as its first stop ."

The issue of asylum seekers is once again under the spotlight following the situation in Afghanistan.

Cllr Cox added that unless the system was changed, services, such as education and health, would continue to come under immense pressure, and even more so as the council faces cuts of nearly £40 M.

Bolton is often earmarked to take asylum seekers because of its diverse make-upâ€" but says Cllr Cox by that logic the same towns will be chosen all the time.

"The Government will not go near the shires, to their own constituencies, because they know the impact on the villages, the services, it will be significant," said Cllr Cox, "A lot of people who have come to Bolton have made a huge contribution and to suggest otherwise is to unhinge the argument."

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