11 Aug 2023
More than two years on and the St Albans Noke hotel remains a refuge for migrants from across the world. A far cry from its former glory days as four-star accommodation, the tired and unkempt-looking building is almost penning in its current residents; vulnerable people who fled to here as a place of safety.
There are concrete bollards and temporary wire fences at the front with a small gap for people to enter or exit the building and the foyer, which was a picturesque place for people to stand and socialise, is now blocked off and inaccessible.
The side of the car park area is arguably being unofficially manned by a hand car-wash service and its employees seem to take an interest in any vehicle or person who is anywhere near the building. The front of the facility is managed by security staff.
Does it feel hostile on approach? Yes. Is anybody actually helping the people who have been placed there? That’s what we wanted to know too.
First port of call was the Home Office who have a statutory duty to accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute and provide for their essential living needs while their claim for asylum is being considered.
But their response to our enquiries was vague and without any specific reference to the Noke. A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have been clear that the use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable – there are currently more than 51,000 asylum seekers in hotels costing the UK taxpayer £6 million a day.
“We engage with local authorities as early as possible whenever sites are used for asylum accommodation and work to ensure arrangements are safe for hotel residents and local people.
“We are working closely to listen to the local communities’ views and reduce the impact of sites, including providing onsite security and financial support.”
We then asked Hertfordshire County Council what support local refugees are receiving, if they knew when the residents are likely to be rehoused, whether they have social support and whether they could share any other information with us?
But all an HCC spokesperson would say was: “In line with our duties, when the Home Office place people within hotels in Hertfordshire, we provide services to support and safeguard those arriving in the county through our humanitarian team.”
Granted, neither the county council nor St Albans district council have a duty to provide accommodation, as a SADC spokesperson confirmed: “We have no responsibility for the people currently staying at the Noke Hotel. Regarding their future housing, you will need to contact the Home Office for information and comment.”
All refugees placed in UK hotels are provided with full board accommodation with three meals a day as well as all other essentials, including cash payments where eligible. Asylum seekers are not detained at hotels and are free to leave their accommodation.
With our current asylum system costing the country £3 billion a year and rising, the system has prompted a backlash from right wing groups.
Britain First visited the Noke in October 2021 but did very little apart from videoing a few brief discussions where activists asked residents where they had obtained their bicycles and which country they were from.
However, despite the lack of any violence, the incident led to local charity St Albans For Refugees refusing to comment on the current situation at the Noke for fear of attracting further extremist groups.
It would have been more rewarding to hear there was a target in sight for rehousing those refugees left at the Noke, that local authorities and the government had a clear strategy in hand rather than vague statements about their responsibilities.
Regardless of their reasons, local residents want to know that the rundown and dilapidated Noke Hotel will be restored to its former self, but for now, any answers are not forthcoming, and a state of limbo remains in place.
