On Friday, September 12, 2025, Aberdeen became the latest flashpoint in the United Kingdom’s ongoing debate over asylum policy, as nearly 300 asylum seekers from countries including Iran, Somalia, and Eritrea were relocated from hotels to vacant student accommodation buildings in the city. The move, orchestrated by the Home Office with little advance notice to local authorities, has sparked a storm of criticism from Aberdeen’s leaders, ignited protests, and raised difficult questions about safety, consultation, and the motivations behind site selection.
According to BBC Scotland News, the transfer involved moving asylum seekers from hotels such as the Hampton by Hilton in Westhill and the former Patio Hotel at Aberdeen Beach to Farmer’s Hall, a private accommodation building in the Rosemount area with 150 rooms. This abrupt shift is part of the Home Office’s wider push to end the use of so-called “asylum hotels” across the UK, a policy that has seen similar moves in cities from Perth to Falkirk and Dundee, with varying degrees of local support and opposition.
Christian Allard, the co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, expressed deep frustration over the lack of consultation. He told BBC Scotland News, “We’ve got a great tradition of welcoming refugees from Afghanistan, from the Ukraine, and from many other countries. We have done that very well. It’s been done in a proper way by consulting with everyone around. We’ve been notified, we’ve not been asked, no consultation has happened with Aberdeen City Council, with the communities, with the universities, with student groups.”
Allard’s concerns go beyond process. He worries that the decision to shift people awaiting asylum decisions to Farmer’s Hall could put both the new arrivals and existing residents at risk. “The last thing we would want is people targeted as they have been so far. We have a lot of students coming from abroad. All these protests could target them. We have to be extremely careful of the safety issues,” he warned, according to The Press and Journal.
The city’s recent history gives weight to these fears. Just last month, protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers in Aberdeen resulted in seven arrests for inciting racial hatred. On Friday, protestors gathered outside Farmer’s Hall as asylum seekers moved in, with police present to keep the peace. Allard described the atmosphere as “intimidated” and “threatened,” urging residents “not to participate in these gatherings.” Similar scenes have played out in other Scottish cities: in Falkirk, dozens of protestors and counter-protestors confronted each other outside the Cladhan Hotel, waving banners with messages like “Stop The Hate” and “Immigration Referendum.” In Dundee, more demonstrations are expected near student accommodation housing asylum seekers.
The Home Office, for its part, maintains that it is acting responsibly and in consultation with local partners. A spokesperson said, “We have committed to close all asylum hotels and to achieve this, we will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities. We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery and more detail will be set out in due course.” However, local leaders contest the claim that meaningful consultation has taken place. Allard described the process as a “fait accompli,” stating, “They don’t do any consultation, they don’t ask the neighbouring communities, they don’t ask community councils, the universities, or anyone including the council if they think it’s a good idea or not. They tell us very little. And we need to keep asking to know what’s happening – and of course it’s presented to us as a fait accompli. There is absolutely nothing we can do about it.”
MSP Kevin Stewart, representing Aberdeen Central, echoed Allard’s criticism. “Aberdeen has welcomed refugees and asylum seekers and will continue to be a welcoming place. But unfortunately it seems that the Home Office and Mears, their contractor, are riding roughshod over the local authority and others. And that is not good for the people who are being accommodated, it’s not good for communities and it’s not good for the council.”
Stewart and Allard both suspect that financial considerations, rather than community or humanitarian concerns, are driving the choice of Aberdeen as a relocation site. Stewart pointed to declining property prices and low rents as factors: “My feeling is that halls of residence on Don Street and at Farmers Hall are not the right places to accommodate vulnerable people. Most of the folk there have said that they welcome asylum seekers here, but they feel that the buildings that are being suggested are the wrong ones. One of the reasons why they have chosen Aberdeen in particular is because of the current housing market here, and the low rents for these buildings. So rather than find the right places for people, in my opinion, Mears, the Home Office are choosing these buildings because it means more profit. And we should not be in a situation where companies are profiting from helping vulnerable people.”
The Home Office’s contractor, Mears, has also come under fire for allegedly prioritizing cost savings over community integration or suitability of accommodation. Allard remarked, “I think they are trying to save money, that’s the reason for moving people from one place to another one.” The council’s frustration is compounded by the speed of the decision-making: Aberdeen’s leaders were reportedly informed only hours before the relocation, leaving them little time to prepare or to communicate with local residents.
Beyond the political wrangling, the human stakes are high. Many of the asylum seekers relocated on Friday had been living in hotels for years, their lives in limbo as they await decisions on their claims. The move to student flats, while intended as a step toward normalcy, has instead thrust them into the center of a contentious debate, marked by protests and uncertainty. Allard and Stewart both emphasize that Aberdeen remains a welcoming city, but insist that proper accommodation and genuine consultation are necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of all involved.
As the Home Office continues its drive to close asylum hotels across the UK, Aberdeen’s experience serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of sidelining local voices and prioritizing expediency or cost over community cohesion and safety. With further protests expected in Dundee and elsewhere, and with tensions still running high in Aberdeen, the debate over how best to house and support asylum seekers shows no sign of abating.
The events of September 12 have left Aberdeen’s leaders, residents, and new arrivals grappling with difficult questions about consultation, integration, and the true costs of asylum policy—questions that will likely echo far beyond the city’s granite streets in the weeks and months ahead.
