Community cohesion and asylum accommodation: Understanding local perspectives

Asylum accommodation has become one of the most visible and politically charged elements of the UK’s immigration system. Throughout 2024 and 2025, hotels housing people seeking asylum became flashpoints for protest and, in some cases, violent unrest. Yet national headlines obscure a more complex local picture.

This report examines how asylum accommodation is experienced and interpreted within communities themselves. Drawing on focus groups with residents across six English case study areas – Liverpool, Plymouth, Hillingdon, Derby, Tamworth and Wakefield – alongside a dedicated focus group with people seeking asylum in Plymouth, the research explores why asylum hotels have generated different responses across the country, and what conditions support cohesion where asylum accommodation is present.

We identify the following five key findings. 

1. Perceived unfairness in housing and cost-of-living pressures is shaping attitudes to asylum accommodation.
2. Weak communication and low trust create space for misinformation.
3. Safety concerns reflect wider crime and disorder, with hotels sometimes becoming focal points.
4. National border anxieties coexist with local pragmatism.
5. Decline and community strength coexist.

Our research indicates that asylum accommodation must be embedded within wider housing and regeneration strategy, accompanied by proactive and transparent local engagement.