Residents of a deprived Southern town known for its derelict high street and have claimed they are being exploited by the government after plans were leaked detailing how a new migrant hotel could be installed above a cluster empty shops.
Locals in Waterlooville, Hampshire have said the new arrivals could bring ‘chaos’ to the already ‘dead’ community hub following unrest at other migrant sites last week which saw riot police deployed in Epping and Canary Wharf.
The Home Office plan to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a brand new development, where flats can sell for £250,000, is part of a new initiative to lower the numbers in hotels and ‘disperse’ migrants across UK towns and cities.
However, it was done without any consultation with the local council to the dismay of locals and tensions in the town which has been described as a ‘zombieland’ due to its low visitor numbers is high.
With just days to go until a decision is due to be made and amid a planned protest to block the move, residents have expressed concern at being kept in the dark over major decisions that could shape the future of their town.
Waterlooville used to be a ‘thriving’ high street but lost many big name stores including Waitrose, Wilko, Game and Peacocks in recent years, with much of the footfall being ‘taken’ by a nearby retail park.
These days the ‘barren’ high street has maintained its Wetherspoons but little else and some residents fear this complete lack of life in the town centre will lead to the migrant men loitering aimlessly.
When MailOnline visited the town yesterday, tensions were high with some locals fearing for the safety of their families and the future of the town should the move go through.
WATERLOOVILLE: A deprived Hampshire town could soon have a migrant hotel, pictured, installed above shops in the middle of the derelict high street
WATERLOOVILLE: Locals have said the new arrivals could bring ‘chaos’ to the already ‘dead’ community hub
CANARY WHARF: Protesters gathered outside the hotel, some wearing masks and others draped in St George’s flags at a migrant hotel last week
EPPING: A protestors jumps up and down on the roof of a police van at a protest on July 17 outside The Bell Hotel
WATERLOOVILLE: Pompey fan Steve, 58, who has lived in the area his whole life, told MailOnline he fears for the safety of his family
Pompey fan Steve, 58, who has lived in the area his whole life said: ‘I’ve got a 13-year-old granddaughter, when you’re about that age, you want to go out up the high street, but I’d be worried now.
‘There’s no criminal history checks on these people. It’s easy to get swept up in that aspect, but it’s not just that, I think it will attract trouble for us as well as the migrants.
‘With the planned protests, I don’t want people to start smashing things up because that plays into the hands of the Home Office and police who say ‘see, there we go, right wing’.
‘We have genuine concerns but the narrative can change quickly.’
The earmarked development is a newly converted block of 19 flats called Waterloo House.
It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham.
At the top of the market, the flats could fetch £250,000 each but falling house prices mean taking them off the market and entering into a deal with Clearsprings, a company which procures accommodation for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office, could be a far more profitable move for Mountley Group.
That’s because the government could offer top of the market fees in order to get migrants into housing. As a result, Mountley Group could enjoy fixed guaranteed rates for several years and not be at risk of market turbulence.
As well as private rentals, the Home Office is seeking medium-sized sites such as former student accommodation and old tower blocks to house migrants.
The flats are located above a bric a brac store called The Junk Emporium which was once a Peacocks clothing store and before that, a Tesco.
A member of staff at the shop, who rent from Mountley Group, told MailOnline how they only found out about the plans over Facebook and revealed the fallout of the row has severely impacted business.
She explained: ‘Yesterday we probably took around a third less. They [customers] think it’s to do with us but it’s not, we just rent the shop, they kind of assume we know what is going which we don’t.
‘We’ve had lots of phone calls and people coming in asking questions we can’t answer. We were always under the impression that the flats above would be sold to commuters and people like that.
WATERLOOVILLE: The flat complex is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham
WATERLOOVILLE: Locals fear that migrant men will soon be loitering in their ‘Zombieland’ high street
WATERLOOVILLE: Kathleen Kingston, 67, who has lived in the area her whole life said housing people above shops on a high street is plain wrong
‘The only thing the owners have told us is that it will not be for 35 single men, it is families. What concerns us is this protest. We have not had any assurances in the event of damage to the shop.’
Others in Waterlooville, said to be named by soldiers returning from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, feel just as left out of the conversation.
Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight.
The 68-year-old said: ‘I’m dead against it, there could be fights and trouble up here. You’re going to have problems here, I can tell you that.
‘There are people waiting years on housing waiting lists and it just seems like they get a brand new flat just like that? Why can’t they look after us first?
‘Our government is making us unhappy because of it. People are left behind, they’re thinking more of the people coming in now. You get them coming over here, causing mayhem, causing trouble, all they get is a slap on the wrist and don’t do it again. This is how I see it.’
Jdarno Osborne, a mum whose children have challenging medical needs, says the hotel has left her angry because she has struggled to get stable housing in the past.
The 36-year-old, who has lived in the area her whole life, said: ‘It’s funny how they can quickly house people from out of the country yet our own don’t get support.
WATERLOOVILLE: At the top of the market, the flats could fetch £250,000 each
WATERLOOVILLE: A shopper walks by a dilapidated shop which once housed a Store Twenty One
‘I’ve got six kids, I lived in a two bed flat for thirteen years and yet somebody can come over and get helped straight away.
‘My daughter is 15 now, they sometimes come here to hang with their friends. But it is worrying, there are things kicking off elsewhere because you hear of cases of rapes, harassment, stalking.
‘We have to deal with this but people don’t seem to care.’
The row over the proposed hotel has triggered a political fallout which has seen local MP for Fareham and Waterlooville, Suella Braverman, the former Home Secretary, launch a petition to block the hotel going ahead.
She said such sites make town centres ‘no-go zones for the patriotic, common-sense majority’ adding: ‘This site, in the centre of our town, is utterly inappropriate for migrant accommodation. It must be stopped.’
Her petition has garnered nearly 10,000 signatures.
Leader of Labour-run Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said last week how the row came about after Clearsprings, who are procuring the site, sent their consultation to the wrong email address.
In a furious public statement, he said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ that such an important issue was handled so poorly but went on to lambast Ms Braverman for ‘headline-grabbing’.
WATERLOOVILLE: The council have secured a 10-day consultation extension period to consider the plans. A decision is expected on 1st August
WATERLOOVILLE: Waterlooville, which is located near the South Downs National Park, is said to have its name originated from soldiers returning from nearby Portsmouth after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
He added: ‘They also failed to follow up to ensure a response of some kind was registered. These consultation exercises need to be taken seriously.
The council have secured a 10-day consultation extension period to consider the plans. A decision is expected on 1st August.
‘I look forward to the council providing a response that reflects the concerns of the borough’, Mr Munday said.
Nikki Woodley and her 14-year-old son Harry said they also have reservations if migrants were to be relocated to the high street.
Nikki said: ‘The council say the information was sent to the wrong person which I don’t know if I agree with or not. But I’m obviously against the hotel. It’s the worse place to put it because there are children everywhere here.
‘I’m not saying they’re going to be all horrible and bad and criminals but if they’re illegal we don’t know who they are, we’ve got no idea who they are, they could have PTSD.
‘I don’t suppose you’ll come anyone who is for it.’
Harry, who spoke to MailOnline with permission from his mum, said he sometimes hangs out on the high street and while the prospect of groups of young migrant men wouldn’t bother him too much he said ‘I’d probably feel a bit cautious’ and consider socialising elsewhere.
Kathleen Kingston, 67, who has lived in the area her whole life said housing people above shops on a high street is plain wrong.
She went on: ‘I think of the accommodation for locals like housing association, there are more people that need housing.’
Patricia Walding, 87, added: ‘These hotels are changing our towns, they are costing us a fortune and robbing the taxpayer while our own people are sleeping on the streets, I think it’s disgusting.’
WATERLOOVILLE: The leader of Havant Borough Council said Clearsprings, who are procuring the site, sent their consultation to the wrong email address – prompting the row
WATERLOOVILLE: A man walks his dog past a closed down Game store on in Waterlooville
Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight
But not everyone is so against the plans.
One lady, an SEN teacher, who did not want to be named, feels local people are unloading unrelated grievances about their lives onto asylum seekers because they are ‘an easy target’.
The mum said: ‘People have got different views, those views are not wanting to house asylum seekers. The views and reasoning behind it are one, very racist, and two, not the right reasons. You hear it a lot, just the chat about migrants.
‘I don’t believe for one second they care about the money side of things with the migrant criss or the actual safety of other people.
‘I understand people are concerned about women and children. I’m concerned about the other side of it, the protests, all these people gathering. They’ll say its peaceful but it definitely wont be.
‘I’ve had asylum seekers as students, one of them has just past their level three and I couldn’t be more proud. When you actually listen to someone like that and they tell you stories what it is really like to come from somehwere like that, you have no idea, you get to wake up in a warm bed every morning. When you see videos they won’t show on the BBC.
‘Everytime I share my views, people say it’s stupid. But you can’t help where you’re born.’
The Leader of Havant Borough Council, Councillor Phil Munday, said ‘I understand we have an instructed duty from the Home Office to house asylum seekers within the borough, however it is important that the council works closely with all concerned to advise on the placement for these vulnerable people.
WATERLOOVILLE: Two dilapidated store fronts close to the proposed site of the hotel
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has launched a petition to block the hotel going ahead
‘I have taken immediate action and personally called The Home Office to request an extension to their consultation in order for us to respond accordingly. This has also been followed up with formal requests in writing from our officers.
‘We are extremely disappointed that the company involved with this important consultation, considering the impact it may have on our local community, was not only sent to an incorrect email address, but they also failed to follow up to ensure a response of some kind was registered. These consultation exercises need to be taken seriously.
Councillor Phil Munday added ‘I also have grave concerns on the impact the recent video posted by MP Suella Braverman will have, and I would urge the community to act responsibly and allow us to address this matter formally in the correct manner.
‘As part of my open letter to Suella Braverman MP on this matter I will be reminding her that those who could potentially be accommodated somewhere within our borough, will be supported asylum seekers.
‘They are categorically not recognised by the state as illegal immigrants – regardless of the headline-grabbing title of Suella Braverman’s petition – and I urge people to consider this in their views and actions.’
As of late June 2025, there are approximately 32,000 asylum seekers housed in hotels in the UK.
As of July 20, 2025, over 20,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year, according to the BBC.
The Home Office, Clearsprings and Mountley Group were approached for comment.
