Government scrap plans to house asylum seekers in Southport Pontins

The UK government has scrapped plans to house asylum seekers in the Pontins holiday resort in Southport.

Sefton Council had opposed converting the resort, in Ainsdale, into asylum accommodation. The authority is understood to have raised a number of objections, including the logistics of accessing the site and the impact it would have on its local tourism.

Southport MP Damien Moore described the proposal for Pontins as ‘completely inappropriate’ and added that an influx of vulnerable families would have added further pressure on local children’s services — already rated ‘inadequate’ by regulator Ofsted.

Ministers are searching for large sites to replace the costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers awaiting decisions while their claims are assessed. The council was approached by the Home Office last year about potentially turning the site into a temporary base, which can accommodate more than 3,000 people, and is still currently used as a holiday resort.

The government was understood to be close to finalising plans with Britannia, the holiday park’s owner, which would have seen the coastal attraction closed to the public.

A council spokesperson said: “We have now been informed that the Home Office no longer wish to pursue plans to house Asylum Seekers at the Pontins site in Ainsdale. We are awaiting written confirmation of this decision.”

The talks are not understood to have involved Sefton Council or local MP Damien Moore who criticised the government for failing to communicate with him over a key issue affecting his community, saying: “MPs should be updated by Home Office officials on how discussions are going.” 

The government wants to end the reliance on hotels to house asylum seekers who are awaiting decisions on their claims, which the Home Office says is costing £6.8m a day.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick is trying to find larger alternative sites which he says will be cheaper – including former student halls of residence, holiday parks and surplus military sites. But none have yet been given the go-ahead.

A plan to turn a former RAF base in Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire into an asylum centre was also scrapped last summer due to local opposition.