How do Westhill residents view their local asylum hotel? | UK News

A town in Aberdeenshire has seen its population grow by 300 since a local hotel started accommodating asylum seekers in March 2023.

Men from Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan and Eritrea are among those staying in Westhill – which has a population of 12,000 – as they wait for asylum claims to be processed by the Home Office.

Last month their home, the Hampton by Hilton hotel, was the focus of one of a wave of anti-immigration protests, as well as a counter-demonstration.

Scotland News has spoken to two men living at the hotel as well as members of the community who say there are “mixed feelings” about the new residents.

There are currently two asylum seekers in each room at the hotel and they are provided with three meals a day.

While their applications are under consideration they are unable to work.

David (not his real name), from Iran, is one of the men living at the hotel. He arrived in Scotland a few weeks ago after travelling to the UK on a small boat.

He said he could no longer live in Iran, after converting to Christianity and living in fear of the authorities.

“If you are a Muslim, you cannot change your religion, and if you do that, they will capture you, torture you and finally execute you,” he added.

“Yes, they captured me for one night and they hit me, and they beat me, and I have some injuries from that night.

“Then they told me that you cannot live anymore – you die soon. And because of that I left my country.”

David said he felt the people of Westhill had been welcoming.

“They are very sweet and very kind,” he said. “That’s very important for me, because if they help us, we can integrate with the situation and with the people of the town, and Scotland.”

David said there were cultural and religious differences among those in the hotel, and that the length of time it was taking to process applications also had an impact.

“For some people it happens very quickly, but for some people it’s too slow,” he said. “They can’t tolerate that physically and mentally.

“I know someone from Iran, he has been here for two years. That’s too long for a person to stay in a hotel room.”

David said he felt there were many generalisations made about asylum seekers.

“Some refugees have done some things that are not good, but it is not all of the refugees. We see some protests around the town and that’s not good, because I think why? I am a Christian, I come here because I am a refugee, my life is in danger.”

Adrian (not his real name), who is also from Iran and arrived by small boat too, has been at the hotel for nearly three months.

“I want to live here like other people,” he said. “I want to live a good life.

“Two, three months in the hotel, I am depressed, really. I am scared.”

Some of the asylum seekers attend services at Westhill Community Church, which also provides clothing and advice.

The church’s minister, Rev Dave McCarthy, said the basic principle of humanity could co-exist with concerns in the community.

Rev McCarthy said there were some people “not very happy about resources being taken up” but also a “lot of untruth” about what asylum seekers receive.

“We have about 20 who come along on a Sunday,” he explained.

“I think on the whole my impression would be that people are positive and want to engage. I think there is something about offering welcome to the stranger.

“It’s not that people necessarily agree with the method by which they come here – I think a lot of people would be concerned about that. But I think that they’re here, in this rural part of Aberdeenshire, and it’s that Scottish thing – they want to be welcoming to folk.”

Rev McCarthy said he recognised there was also division.

“One or two people have said to me ‘well they crossed 10 countries to come to the UK, why is it they don’t stop in a safe country?’ I can understand that to some extent, those concerns that people have about the resources and the reasons that people are coming.

“It’s not always perceived that it’s escaping persecution or escaping difficult circumstances. Some people are concerned that they’re economic migrants. As in a lot of things in life there’s some truth in both sides of the debate.”

He added: “I don’t hear or see much evidence for the men in the hotel having caused much in the way of crime, or anything that has happened that has meant that children have been made unsafe or vulnerable.”

Scotland News understands that police have found no rise in crime in Westhill directly linked to the asylum seekers.

David Ritchie, secretary of Westhill and Elrick Community Council, said there were “obviously very mixed feelings” locally but that it was perhaps not as extreme as in other areas.

“I think we have come to tolerate them, because they haven’t really caused any major problems,” he said.

“People would obviously prefer them not to be here, but realise we’ve got them here, so we just have to live with it. We just don’t think it’s a suitable place for them to be, mainly. There’s not really that much for them to do here.”

He said efforts were made to involve the men in daily life, with some taking part in litter pick-ups.

He added: “There’s been very little trouble here because the guys know if they cause any problems, especially if the police get involved, that’s going to affect their application to stay in the country, so they generally are quite well behaved.”

The Aberdeen Against Illegal Migration group, which says on Facebook it wants to “protect our women and children”, was approached for comment.

At a protest in Falkirk earlier this summer, protesters lambasted UK immigration policy and criticised the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Others described having “fair and legitimate concerns” and rejected accusations that they were extremists or racists.

Feelings in Falkirk have been inflamed after an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, Sadeq Nikzad, 29, was jailed for raping a 15-year-old girl in the town centre.

On Tuesday police launched an investigation after a brick was thrown through a window of the Cladhan Hotel – which houses asylum seekers in Falkirk.

First Minister John Swinney described the attack as “absolutely despicable”.

The new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said the small boat crossings are “utterly unacceptable” and that “vile people smugglers behind them are wreaking havoc on our borders”.

Protecting UK borders is her priority, she said, adding all options will be explored to restore order to the immigration system.

Last week, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told his party’s conference that if elected he would stop migrants arriving on small boats within two weeks of entering government.

When asked about the length of time it would take to pass such laws, Farage said a government led by him would “want to do it as quickly as we possibly can”.

At the end of August, the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of the British people”.

The UK government has said it had inherited an asylum system in chaos, with tens of thousands of individuals stuck in hotels waiting for their claims to be heard.

It had taken practical steps including “doubling asylum decision-making” and reducing the number of people in hotels by 6,000 in the first half of 2025.

A spokesperson added: “There is no intention to change the existing rules and allow asylum seekers the right to work.

“They remain eligible to apply for permission to work if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own.”