Former hospital could become asylum accommodation

Plans to use a former hospital in East Sussex as an accommodation centre for asylum seekers are under consideration by the Home Office, it has been confirmed.

The Esperance Hospital in Eastbourne operated from the 1920s until its closure in July 2019. Work has since been carried out to convert the building into 45 flats.

The government and accommodation provider Clearsprings Ready Homes are now looking to use the as yet unoccupied building as temporary accommodation for up to 125 people seeking asylum.

Eastbourne Borough Council has objected to the scheme, while MP Josh Babarinde urged the government to "reconsider". A government source said no decision had yet been made on the site.

The 52-room private hospital, which was previously run by BMI Healthcare Ltd, has been vacant since March 2020.

Developers Stonegate Ltd went on to buy the site, for which planning permission was granted in 2020.

The Home Office said it does not comment on individual accommodation sites but said "this government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of cases stuck in a backlog.

"It remains our commitment to house people in more cost-effective and suitable accommodation in communities, achieving better value for the tax-payer."

Mr Babarinde, Eastbourne's Liberal Democrat MP, wrote to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in January to express "serious concerns" about the plans.

He said issues including a lack of school places, GP appointments and an already-significant homeless crisis had not been adequately addressed.

"Like all communities, our town takes seriously our part in the legal duty to house those seeking asylum, until their claims are assessed," Babarinde wrote.

"This responsibility must include adequate scrutiny of the challenges that may be involved in any scheme proposed."

The MP also claimed that there has been a lack of consultation on the proposals.

Eastbourne Borough Council has also opposed the plans.

Conservative opposition leader Councillor Robert Smart believes the plans show an "appalling disregard for Eastbourne's future".

He said: "The council may have put in an objection, but I am calling on them to take all available legal action to reject these proposals."

Labour pledged in its manifesto to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Asylum and border security minister Dame Angela Eagle confirmed to MPs in November that 220 hotels were still in use, seven more than at the general election.

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