The planning application for a care home said Brexit saw the hotel’s business slump as migrant workers who had previously stayed at the hotel returned to their country of origin
Plans to turn a hotel that once housed asylum seekers in Peterborough into a residential care home have been withdrawn.
Zenia Care submitted plans to Peterborough City Council requesting permission to turn the Hub at Fengate into a care home for the elderly on March 13, 2026. That application has now been withdrawn.
The initial planning submission, which was submitted on Zenia Care’s behalf by AM Planning Consultants, outlined the background of the hotel. It said: “The owner purchased the hotel site in 2013 and had many successful years.
“However, since Brexit in January 2019, when the majority of the hotel’s regular migrant worker clients returned to their country of origin the business has slumped by 70 per cent as they were the hotel’s core business.”
It continued: “In 2021 planning permission was granted for the change of use of the hotel to a residential care home… however, this was not implemented due to unforeseen circumstances, and the hotel has been used to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.”
The hotel – which was once known as The Verve – hit headlines in 2022 when it was requisitioned by Serco, the organisation responsible for finding accommodation in the region for asylum seekers on behalf of the Home Office.
The move sparked protests and demands for local consultation from residents and politicians when 40-80 asylum seekers arrived in November 2022 as part of a plan to relieve severe overcrowding at the Manston processing centre in Kent.
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