Residents claim they are living in fear after a spa hotel began housing asylum seekers who ‘eye up young girls’ – with the Home Office criticising the ‘absolute stomach-churning’ behaviour.
Householders in Leeds say there was no consultation before the nearby hotel was repurposed in January 2022. They claim groups of asylum seekers living in the hotel have been staring at young girls and making women frightened to go out at night.
The spa hotel offered gift days online before closing, and boasted a host of facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym and salon.
Many residents in the well-heeled area live in luxury homes behind security gates with CCTV, with those living in the hotel typically passing by to visit local shops.
The area is close to a park popular with dog walkings, but some claim they have had to walk in the road when passing the hotel because many residents ‘do not like dogs.’
Andrew Foster, 42, who grew up in the area and recently moved back, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is a lovely area. I am not happy with the hotel being there at all. We don’t know who they are. We don’t know their background.
‘When we first moved in my best friend, who is a police officer, came to see the house with my goddaughter who was 12 at the time. We were just saying our goodbyes when three or four of them walked by and started looking her up and down. They were eyeing her up as a young female.’
The Home Office said the reported behaviour was ‘absolutely stomach-churning’ and that anyone committing sexual harassment should face the ‘full force of the law’.
It comes after the Government pledged last June to stop using hotels to hold asylum seekers by 2029. This followed estimates that asylum housing costs would hit £15.3billion over the next decade – triple the amount budgeted by the Home Office.
Householders in Leeds say there was no consultation before the hotel (above) was repurposed
Dave Bainbridge, 67, says the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers ‘should be scrapped’
Mr Foster added: ‘We see them walking past all the time. That was the one event that bothers me the most. It was not nice to see.
‘I live here with my partner and we walk the dog as much as we can. But my partner does not go out by herself when it is dark.
‘She will wait till I come home then we go out together. The park would be perfect to walk the dog but we go to the nearby housing estate instead.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This behaviour is absolutely stomach-turning. Anyone involved in conduct amounting to sexual harassment or stalking must face the full force of the law.
‘We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and cross‑government teams to speed up closure of every asylum hotel.
‘Work is already underway, with more suitable sites, including military bases, being brought forward to ease pressure on local communities.’
Dave Bainbridge, 67, said the use of the hotel to house asylum seekers ‘should be scrapped’.
He added: ‘I know they have caused an awful lot of mess at the back of the hotel and in the park. A lot of women do not like to go in the park on their own any more.
‘People just want them gone ASAP. I think some are working illegally because they are getting picked up on a morning.
‘They should not be in this country. It was a bit of a shock when the moved in. They just appeared. There was no announcement.’
A Mail reporter was told the hotel was temporarily closed when they attempted to book a room
The hotel has a host of facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, gym and salon
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: ‘Police in Leeds are aware there have been some concerns relating to Home Office managed locations.
‘Local officers work closely with hotels in their area to investigate any crimes when they are reported, and to respond to incidents where a police attendance is required.’
It comes after it was reported last month that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood would oversee an end to housing asylum seekers in hotels starting this spring.
Sources said new policies would enable the Home Office to remove accommodation and weekly allowances from some, targeting those who can support themselves financially, have the right to work or who are breaking the law or refusing deportation orders.
The Labour government has pledged to end the use of hotels, a policy brought in by the previous Conservative government, for asylum seekers by 2029.
But for residents near the hotel, this does not come soon enough.
Leeds University lecturer Mohsen Besharat, 45, said: ‘When they are walking around here I lock the door which I do not usually do. We try to be a bit more cautious.
‘When my wife goes out for a run I tell her to go the other way. You see them strangely staring at girls when I use the bus.’
He added the hotel was not suitable accommodation, saying: ‘Some of them have to cook in the rooms with a small stove and are not happy with the situation.’
The spa hotel in Leeds where the migrants are being housed offered gift days before closing
Geoffrey Gibson, 76, said: ‘They have all got fancy shoes and coats on. How much money do they get given a week? Everyone in my house says the same as me. They should be sent back. Then the hotel can get reopened again.’
John Parrot, 40, added: ‘If I had young kids would I be happy with them playing in the front garden? Probably not. I do worry and am a bit wary.
‘It is not a nice thing to have on your doorstep. I worry about my Mrs when she is out. They walk around in groups of four or five. My wife is too frightened to walk the dog by here and it is a big dog.
‘It is not the colour of their skin. If it was a bunch of white males from Wakefield, I would feel the same way.’
Another resident, 58, who asked not to be named, said: ‘They should integrate them properly with the community by doing community gardening. It is not slave labour.
‘Older people would feel a bit more secure. They are sat there doing nothing, they must be bored out of their heads. I have got three kids, aged 26, 22, and 18, two girls and a boy. They have been stared at on the bus.’
When a Mail reporter tried to book a room in the hotel he was confronted by a man in a high visibility jacket who said the hotel was ‘temporarily closed’.
A number of migrants were smoking outside who gestured at our reporter to go away.