AN ENTIRE Winchester hotel could soon be used to house asylum seekers.

The Home Office is in discussions with the owners of the Winchester Royal Hotel. 

If approved, the families, who are from countries such as Iran, Iraq and Eritrea, will move into the Winchester Royal Hotel on a nine-month basis while they go through the process of applying for right to remain in the UK.

Asylum seekers, unlike refugees, have not been formally recognised as having a right to live in the country they are being housed. They have usually fled their home country due to violence or persecution.

The Chronicle understands the Home Office has held a series of meetings to formalise the agreement - which would see all 160 beds filled - and has been in contact with both Winchester City and Hampshire County Council.

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The police and other agencies have also been informed as the city's services prepare to welcome asylum seekers from as early as Friday, September 30.

However staff at the St Peter Street establishment said they were unaware of the impending move. 

Castlebridge Hospitality, the company which owns and runs the Winchester Royal, has been approached for comment.

It currently manages seven hotels, including the Holiday Inn Winchester, Hilton Garden Inn Birmingham, Holiday Inn Express Algeciras and Hotel Indigos in Chester, Stratford Upon Avon and Bath. 

The government department has struck similar deals with willing hotel groups across the country - such as ones in Andover and Southsea - while it looks to provide temporary accomodation to comply with its statutory duty. It's unclear how much it will cost.

Winchester MP Steve Brine said: “This will come as quite a shock to many residents as it was to me.

“Clearly Winchester has shown, with Hong Kong nationals, Afghans and of course our Ukrainian friends, it’s rightly got a big heart when it comes to welcoming people to our city in their hour of need but this is on a completely different scale and we have to recognise that if this goes ahead as mooted.

“It will challenge some people deeply, as principle and reality collide, but there are serious practical questions around the impact on local public services and especially city tourism given the loss of available hotel rooms the use of this hotel will bring about. The impact of that this Christmas - and various graduation ceremonies in the spring - come to mind.

“Obviously the owners of the Winchester Royal Hotel have indicated they’re willingness to be part of this and no doubt they will have done a risk versus reward calculation of where this leaves them in the long-term.”

Tony Smith, who owned the Winchester Royal Hotel from 1992 until 2002, said he feared for the city's tourism industry.

He said: “It is an historic hotel. It is very important for tourism in Winchester. If they want to put asylum seekers somewhere then there are hotels on the edge of the city that would be more appropriate.

"To take that hotel out of Winchester is a huge mistake. The effects it will have on the businesses around it will be massive. It is a terrible idea.”

The Home Office has said it doesn't comment on operational arrangements for individual hotels.

READ MORE: Asylum seekers being housed in Andover hotel