Metropole Hotel facing major revamp after migrants’ departure

Blackpool’s Metropole Hotel is set to return to its role as a holiday destination – but the imposing hotel is not expected to be ready for some time.

The Hotel took centre stage on Tuesday when Blackpool was chosen by Anna Turley, the Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, for the announcement that asylum hotels will no longer be housing migrants.

Mrs Turley praised the “gorgeous” hotel and said it could now return to bringing people to the town and adding to the heritage and the history of the area.

But she confirmed it will not be receiving any more Government funds to renovate it after it housed hundreds of asylum seekers between September 2021 and July 2026.

it is understood that the hotel is currently in no state to welcome paying guests and will need an extensive renovation.

During its tenure as an asylum hotel, it was run by the Serco Group, which manages public services for the government, including immigration matters, but it will now be retuned to owners Britannia Hotel, which is believed to have made substantial profits from block-booking agreements before the hotel ended its asylum use .

The UK government spent £2.1 billion on hotel accommodations in the 2024/25 financial year, down from a peak of £3 billion the previous year.

What minister said

Mrs Turley, who is also MP for Redcar, said of the Metropole: “This is such an iconic hotel and I represent a seaside town myself and i know what it’s like in communities like this, to feel you’re a bit left behind, a bit ignored, that you haven’t had the investment over the years.

“I feel that using this hotel as an asylum hotel was a bit of a symbol of that, that people didn’t rally care enough about the heritage, the investment and the iconic nature of a building like this.

“So I was really pleased to come to come to this one because I think it’ really important to send a statement to people in Blackpool and around the country that we’re not going to use hotels like this any more for housing asylum seekers.

“We’re going to use them for enriching tourism, for bringing people to the area and restoring their heritage and the history of the area.”

Asked about funds for revamping the hotel, she said: “I think the renovation will be down to the operators because we have funded them for a substantial amount of time to house those asylum seekers.

“So the priority now is to mov the asylum seekers on to more appropriate accommodation, to give this great hotel back to the community, so it can be used for its original purpose, to bring tourists in and give people a good time in Blackpool.

“It’s up to the owners to make that a reality.

“But the key thing for us was to close it as an asylum hotel and send a message to the people of Blackpool.”

Chris Webb’s view

Blackpool South MP Chris Webb, who campaigned strongly to move the asylum seekers out to more appropriate accommodation, said: “This is a big milestone, I pledged to get this hotel closed and brought back to the use of our tourism industry.

“The hotel now has been passed back from Serco to Britannia and we’ve been told they’re looking to refurb it and reopen it back to being a tourist hotel.

“It’s been a long campaign but one I’m delighted that we’ve succeeded in and it’s great to have the minister here in Blackpool today.”

Asked about the revamp, he said: “My view is, we shouldn’t be putting any more money into this hotel.

“Britannia received a lot of money to be an asylum hotel. They need to step up now and invest themselves, using those profits they’ve made to bring this hotel back to it’s former glory.

“And that’s what I’m going to be pushing for.”