Residents protest streets of Cottingham over housing asylum seekers
A meeting was held today
Last updated 7th Jan 2023
Cottingham residents have been walking the streets with placards in a bid to raise their concerns about plans for asylum seekers to be housed at the former University Halls of residence at The Lawns.
A Facebook group has since been set up and has attracted 1.3k followers. An organiser of the group said there will be another meeting next Saturday with another protest planned at Victoria Square in Hull City Centre at 2pm.
One of the organisers of the group, said: Police estimated the number of people who attended today was 400-500.
Becky Jayne Longbottom, a group member of ‘Cottingham United,’ said:
"This group has been set up to oppose the Lawns falling prey to the same fate as Thwaite.
"It is a site that has been left relatively empty for many many years so the government are going to snap it up to make use of the space.
"It seems the Uni are taking a U-turn on allowing Asylum Seekers to be housed there and if this is the case then so be it.
"But let's not leave the site empty for much longer.
"As a community we could transform the space and actually unite and create something massively needed for the village. There has been thousands of new houses built in recent years but no extension on infrastructure within the village.
"The Lawns could provide an excellent addition and things like cafes, public services, independent shops could be built in the space. Veterans could be housed there and it could easily be used for those that don't need to be in hospital but can't get into care homes.
"Let's keep the momentum and the passion going to transform the space into something good.”
Around 100 people first gathered on Thursday evening for a packed meeting about the plans.
Resident David Abram said he called the meeting because he decided it was time for locals to come up with solutions rather than complaining about the plans.
Some staff were sent an email from The University of Hull saying:
“As you may be aware the university has been trying to sell the Lawns and Ferens sites for two years as they are no longer viable for student accommodation and we have received a number of offers.
“We have had some feedback in relation to one of the potential bidders and you may have seen or heard some of this in the media or on social media.
“Having listened to feedback from key local stakeholders we have decided to pause this process we will bring key local stakeholders together to seek their support in exploring opportunities and to consider our options.”
In Thursday's meeting a Humberside Police officer said they had had no reports about asylum seekers from North Ferriby’s Humber View Hotel and only one unsubstantiated claim about one’s staying at Thwaite Hall.
The officer called on people making claims about asylum seekers’ behaviour to report it.