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Former Walsall care home now used to shelter asylum seekers

A former care home which was closed down after failing to meet standards is now being used as a shelter for asylum-seeking families.

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A retrospective planning application to change the use of Castlefort Grange in Walsall Wood to a holding facility for single mothers applying for asylum was filed on Wednesday.

The building is being leased by security firm G4S, which has been contracted by the Government to provide accommodation for asylum seekers across the country.

Twenty mothers and 20 children are already living there.

Councillor Keith Sears, who represents Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, has raised fears about the impact it could have on nearby Castlefort School, which is just over the road.

He said: "The only thing I am concerned about, and one or two others are, is when they start going to Castlefort School. It is practically full now and it is going to deny locals a place at school.

"I think there ought to be distribution further round the borough to stop this happening. If they have got 20 and they have got children it's basically a class."

Head of housing for G4S's immigration contracts, Juliet Halstead, said the firm was leasing the property, adding: "Our contract with the Home Office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers requires us to consult with local authorities and seek approval for the use of every house in their area.

"We have worked constructively with the council, police and other agencies to enable us to house vulnerable families with children at this property, which has not been changed or modified from its pre-existing structure, and as such we are hopeful that this planning application will be approved."

G4S's managing director John Whitwam said in October that the company is contracted to house asylum seekers in 135 local authorities – but does so in only 37.

In addition to Walsall, they include Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell.

Wolverhampton housed 709 people in 'dispersed accommodation' between April and June this year, Dudley 232 and Sandwell 835. South Staffordshire and Stafford were home to none during that time.

Castlefort Grange was shut down after failing to make improvements following warnings from the Care Quality Commission in 2013.

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