More than 80 asylum seekers are set to be housed in newly constructed homes in the village of Stoke Heath, Shropshire, as part of a Home Office initiative aimed at reducing reliance on asylum hotels. The plans involve accommodating migrant families in 21 newbuild properties valued at approximately £250,000 each.
The decision has sparked considerable concern among local residents, elected officials, and law enforcement. Mark Pritchard, the Conservative Member of Parliament for the area, described Stoke Heath as “a completely inappropriate” site for settling 83 asylum seekers, citing its isolated rural nature and limited public services. Pritchard has pledged to oppose the scheme, calling it “ill-conceived” and disproportionate for the location.
Shropshire Council has formally expressed strong reservations in a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and is awaiting a response before deciding on further measures. John-Paul Campion, West Mercia’s police and crime commissioner, also criticized the proposal, labeling it “wholly inappropriate.”
Residents have voiced concerns about the impact on local infrastructure. Emma O’Sullivan, a nearby resident with teenage children, said the community was initially told the homes would serve as social housing but remained vacant for a year. She added that learning the properties would instead house asylum seekers without integration into social housing arrangements felt misleading. O’Sullivan highlighted worries over school capacity, pointing out that the area has only two primary schools and fears the influx could overwhelm educational resources.
John “Basil” Brockhurst, an Army veteran living near the development, argued that the new housing should prioritize local individuals facing poverty or housing insecurity rather than migrant families.
The facilities are managed by Serco, the outsourcing firm contracted by the Home Office to provide accommodations for asylum seekers and migrants in the West Midlands. Serco stated that placement decisions are directed by the Home Office, which allocates numbers based on national demand and issues instructions accordingly.
Alongside this local initiative, the government recently announced plans to convert three additional former military bases into asylum processing centers, increasing the total to five such sites. As of March, official figures show 20,885 asylum seekers remain in hotel accommodation—a 30 percent reduction over three months—while 72,768 occupy other forms of housing, including houses in multiple occupation and military camps, as they await claim processing.
Home Secretary Mahmood has reaffirmed a commitment to phase out all asylum hotels by the next general election, scheduled for 2029. Home Office Minister Alex Norris told Parliament that over £300 million has been spent in the past two years relocating asylum seekers from hotels, reducing the number from a peak of 400 establishments to 170. The department emphasized efforts to “restore order to the system” by increasing removals of illegal migrants by 41 percent and expanding the use of large-scale, basic accommodation facilities to improve operational efficiency.