Home Office scraps plans for asylum seeker accommodation in Aberdeen

Plans to accommodate almost 150 asylum seekers at a facility in Aberdeen have been abandoned.

The Home Office had previously outlined proposals to house asylum seekers on St Peter Street.

The plans were opposed by Aberdeen South MP Douglas Lumsden, who urged the Home Office to reverse the decision.

In an update provided to Aberdeen City Council, the Home Office said it would not proceed with the dispersal accommodation at the site due to “commercial and contractual reasons”.

Lumsden described the decision as “a win for concerned Aberdeen residents and common sense”.

The Home Office did not confirm the decision when asked by STV News.

A spokesperson said: “The Government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support since the election.

“We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities.”

Two men were charged in connection with a hate crime, while another five men were charged with allegedly inciting racial hatred following protests outside accommodation housing asylum seekers in Aberdeen last year.

The local authority issued an open letter stating that “false claims and hateful rhetoric” were threatening “community cohesion.”

It was later forced to refute an anti-migration group’s claim that a vacant Aberdeenshire hotel was being turned into asylum accommodation.