Closed Wolverhampton asylum hotel will be refurbished and reopen to the public

An hotel which had become the focus of anti-immigration protests is to be refurbished and will reopen to the public.

The Express & Star revealed this week that the Britannia Hotel in Wolverhampton would no longer be used to house asylum seekers.

It had been providing emergency accommodation for migrants for almost five years under a contract with the Home Office, but in recent months a process has taken place of relocating them.

The hotel’s owner said it was now planning a ‘comprehensive upgrade’ of the former Victoria Hotel, which once hosted Winston Churchill.

It said the hotel next to Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, in Lichfield Street, would now be restored as a ‘respected community asset’.

A spokeswoman for Britannia Hotels Group said: “In 2021, Britannia Hotel Wolverhampton was identified as having the capability and capacity to help facilitate the Government’s strategy regarding the short-term settlement of asylum seekers and has subsequently been providing emergency accommodation to individuals and families seeking refuge.

“We are now refurbishing the hotel in order that it can reopen to the public, we can reinvest in the local area and re-establish the hotel as a respected community asset. “Britannia Hotel Wolverhampton will be comprehensively upgraded in order to attract a raft of new leisure and business guests to the area, create employment opportunities and contribute positively to the local economy.

“We hope that over time, focus can shift to what the hotel will now offer going forward.”

She said the hotel did not yet have a reopening date.