Broxbourne MP Lewis Cocking has called on the government to stop using the Delta Hotels by Marriott Cheshunt in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, to house asylum seekers. He raised the issue in Parliament during the January 2026 sitting and urged that the building be returned to commercial use for the local community.
The hotel on Halfhide Lane has been used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers since 2022, and local officials say that has placed additional pressure on nearby GPs, schools and police. Broxbourne Borough Council said councillors voted on 5 November 2025 to resolve to take legal action, including planning enforcement, to seek the closure of the facility.
The council’s move followed legal challenges in neighbouring areas after an August 2025 High Court hearing in Epping Forest that initially granted an injunction to block asylum accommodation at a hotel there. The Home Office successfully appealed that injunction at the Court of Appeal and Epping Forest has since sought to take the case to the Supreme Court. Broxbourne says the Delta Hotels by Marriott Cheshunt was being used in a way that represented an unauthorised change of use without the correct planning permission.
Mr Cocking has argued that the government is not living up to its 2024 manifesto commitment to phase out the use of hotels for asylum accommodation and has pressed ministers to act. Broxbourne council leader Cllr Corina Gander has said closing the site is a priority to protect local services.
There have been protests around the hotel and a heightened police presence since it began being used for asylum accommodation in 2022. Mr Cocking and the council say returning the site to hotel use would help local businesses and tourism capacity and reduce pressure on public services.
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