Potter’s International Hotel in Aldershot is set to stop housing asylum seekers by the end of this year, Labour MP Alex Baker has announced.

The hotel has been the focus of protests over its use as asylum accommodation, including disorder in July 2024 that led to several people being jailed.

Ms Baker said she had been pressing ministers to end its use since being elected, and that the closure formed part of the Labour government’s commitment to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.

Ms Baker said: “I’m proud to have secured this closure for our town.

“The asylum hotel system wasn’t fair on anyone. Local people felt ignored, taxpayers were footing a huge bill, and people seeking asylum were left waiting for long periods in accommodation that wasn’t suitable.

“I promised to stop the planned asylum accommodation at Pinehurst Hillside in Farnborough, and we did. Now, I’m pleased to have helped secure the closure of the asylum hotel in Aldershot too.”

The announcement follows the decision not to proceed with asylum accommodation at Pinehurst Hillside flats in Farnborough, which Ms Baker said had been earmarked for that purpose under the previous Conservative government.

Around 200 people protested outside the hotel on July 31, 2024. Police said most were peaceful, but a minority threw objects and shouted racial abuse.

An officer suffered a minor injury, and several people, including men from Farnham and Ash, were later jailed for violent disorder.

There have been several smaller scale and mainly peaceful protests since then.

Rushmoor Borough Council says asylum accommodation is sourced and managed by the Home Office and its contractors. The council does not select residents, manage the accommodation or decide how long people stay.

Clearsprings manages asylum accommodation in the South East. The council says the hotel accommodation in Rushmoor houses a mixture of families, single men and women.

The hotel was developed by businessman Bob Potter on the site of a former military club, retaining parts of the original building, including its ballroom.