Bracknell Forest Council has clarified why it is calling a hotel used to house Afghans as ‘transitional accommodation’ and why it is wrong to call the people staying there asylum seekers.
Bracknell Forest Council has explained its use of the term 'transitional accommodation' for the Grange Hotel, which is currently housing nearly 200 Afghan nationals, clarifying that they should not be called asylum seekers.
Closed to the public in December 2022, the Grange Hotel is now accommodating families from Afghanistan who arrived legally through government resettlement schemes, not as refugees or illegal immigrants.
Mary Temperton, leader of Bracknell Forest Council, emphasised, “Bracknell Forest does not have any migrant hotels housing asylum seekers. We have transition accommodation run by the Ministry of Defence for 194 Afghan people who have indefinite leave to remain.”
Concerns have been raised about whether the government needed planning permission to house these families in the hotel. However, a council spokesperson confirmed that the hotel has the necessary Class C1 planning permission, which allows it to operate as a hotel.
They stated, “If a building changes its name or ownership, but not its use, then a new planning permission is not needed.” Legal advice has consistently indicated that no change of use is required for the Grange Hotel.
Importantly, Afghan nationals in the hotel have arrived via lawful routes, unlike those who enter the UK irregularly. The Home Office assesses their claims, granting permission to stay or sending those with no valid claims back home. In the year ending March 2025, there were 9,838 asylum-related returns, a 29% rise from the previous year, highlighting the complexities of asylum claims.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
