Aberdeen City Council leaders criticised the Home Office after asylum seekers were moved from hotels into two former student accommodation buildings in the city, saying the local authority and communities were not consulted about the placements.
Christian Allard, co-leader of the council, said he had been notified but not asked about the decision to open Farmer's Hall, a private accommodation block in the Rosemount area with about 150 rooms, and properties on Don Street. He said some of the asylum seekers had previously been housed at the Hampton by Hilton hotel in Westhill in Aberdeenshire, which has sheltered around 300 people since 2023.
Allard said the move was the "wrong move" by the Home Office and raised concerns for public safety and the welfare of asylum seekers, students and other community members. "We've got a great tradition of welcoming refugees from Afghanistan, from the Ukraine, and from many other countries," he said, adding that previous arrivals had been handled after consultation with local partners, universities and student groups.
Local police were present outside the flats on Friday as demonstrators gathered. The council leader said protests over accommodation in Aberdeen had made both communities and asylum seekers feel "intimidated" and "threatened," and urged people not to take part in the gatherings. In the weeks after a protest at the Westhill hotel on Aug. 2, seven people were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, according to police.
A Home Office spokesperson said local authorities had been "engaged and informed throughout the process" and that the government had committed to closing all asylum hotels. The spokesperson said alternatives being considered included disused accommodation, industrial and former military sites and that officials were working with local authorities, property partners and other government departments to accelerate delivery of replacement sites.
Protests and counter-demonstrations over hotel placements have taken place in other Scottish towns, including Perth and Falkirk. On Tuesday, a brick was thrown through the window of a hotel housing asylum seekers in Falkirk, authorities said. The incidents have heightened tensions in areas hosting temporary accommodation.
The asylum seekers involved come from a range of countries including Iran, Somalia and Eritrea, council and Home Office sources said. The moves are part of a wider government effort to remove asylum seekers from hotel accommodation used since 2023, a policy the Home Office says is intended to place people in more suitable, longer-term facilities.
University and student groups in Aberdeen have raised concerns about the use of former student halls for other purposes without wider consultation, according to council officials. Allard said the lack of prior engagement with the council and local partners distinguished this case from earlier, more coordinated resettlement efforts that he described as successful.
Council and Home Office officials said they would continue to discuss arrangements for the relocated asylum seekers and any further moves. Police in the region have not detailed planned security measures beyond their existing presence at some locations while investigations into recent incidents, including the Westhill arrests and the Falkirk window attack, remain under way.