Stoke Rochford Hall Hotel cancels weddings after refugee contract extended

Stoke Rochford Hall Hotel has cancelled a number of weddings as they will be taking in more refugees.

The Government has extended the contract with the hotel to take in additional Afghan refugees.

This has resulted in a number of weddings being cancelled.

A spokesperson for the hotel, which is owned by the Talash Group, said: "The hotel has received notification from the Home Office that the current Government contract is to be extended to take additional families with immediate effect.

"It is with deep regret that three weddings which had planned to use hotel over the coming months have to be cancelled.

"We appreciate how distressing and upsetting cancelling a wedding is, not only for the bride and groom but for all the guests that have been looking forward to celebrating the union and in many cases have made travel arrangements.

"We have invited the couples to the hotel so we can discuss this situation with them in person, not only are we offering our sincere apologies, but where possible looking at alternative arrangements and venues and then transferring the wedding plans to the new venue, as well as arranging a full refund, and any additional expenses the couple may have incurred."

A spokesperson from the Home Office said they do not comment on the operational arrangements of individual hotels.

They added: "The use of hotels to house asylum seekers is unacceptable and we are working with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation across the United Kingdom.

"The Home Office continues to provide safe accommodation for destitute asylum seekers who need it as we work to end the use of hotels which are costing UK taxpayers more than £5 million a day.

"Accommodation providers are responsible for identifying suitable temporary accommodation that can be used for this purpose and engage with local authorities around proposed use of sites

"Local Authorities are key partners in enabling us to procure sufficient accommodation to end the use of hotel contingency."