Historic Birmingham hotel bans Asylum seekers ahead of multi-million pound refurb after guests compl
ASYLUM seekers have been banned from a historic hotel after it got the go-ahead for a multi-million-pound refurb.
The Home Office housed 200 at the Grade II-listed Paragon in Birmingham in 2015, sparking a wave of complaints from guests and locals.
They have since left but Birmingham City Council says planning permission is required to put up any more.
The hotel has been rated 'terrible' by over 700 people on TripAdvisor - with just 25 people hailing it as 'excellent'.
Ronan, from Ennis, Ireland, revisited the hotel in February 2016 and said it had "degenerated beyond bad value".
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Cllr Tahir Ali said: “It was a dumping ground for asylum seekers.”
The council's chief planning officer, Richard Goulborn, said that the planning enforcement team had worked with the immigration service and Home Office to deal with the hotel's use as an asylum seeker's hostel.
He said they would need more planning permission to continue using it in this capacity, adding: "The new owners are moving to a redevelopment of what is a beautiful building."
The Paragon’s Iraqi owners plan to relaunch it as a luxury hotel with a four-storey extension.
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