Despairing homeowners of multi-million pound properties in a leafy village in the shadow of Windsor Castle say the introduction of asylum seekers to the local luxury hotel has made their houses impossible to sell and changed the area for the worse.
The village of Datchet, which sits on the River Thames, typically sees homes shift for an average of £526,000.
However a few high-value homes worth as much as £3.5million are sitting on the market for longer than should be expected – and locals say there’s a single cause.
Since 2022, dozens of asylum seekers have been housed at the village’s Manor Hotel, prompting concerns from locals that services could be over-run and that the local area would become a hive of anti-social activity.
It infuriated officials at the Conservative-run Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, who said the Home Office rode roughshod over their concerns.
Locals claim they have been subjected to racial abuse and have witnessed thefts – but police say there have not been any reports of crimes or anti-social behaviour linked to the migrant hotel.
For some, it’s been too much, prompting them to put houses on the market.
One homeowner said: ‘I put my house on the market, I’ve had enough. This has been such a nice village. It’s been safe and it’s been left to go to rack and ruin. It’s just becoming a hell-hole.’
Another despairing home-owner told yesterday how he was struggling to sell his stunning Victorian property in the village following the controversy.
In a leafy village in the shadow of Windsor Castle locals say the introduction of asylum seekers to their local luxury hotel has turned their lives upside down
Locals in leafy Datchet, near Windsor, say they have been unfairly shackled with asylum seekers to the detriment of their livelihoods
Asylum seekers have been housed in the village’s Manor Hotel since 2022, prompting concerns over the stress placed on local services (Stock image from November)
In the past, the opulent four-star hotel was a favourite haunt of celebrities including George Best
The father admitted he was among a number of sellers who had failed to attract even one viewer for desirable properties in the exclusive village.
His seven-bedroom house in the centre of the Royal Borough village has been ignored by prospective buyers since it went on the market for nearly £2 million six months ago.
He is convinced they have been put off by the controversy over the housing of asylum seekers and a rise in anti-social behaviour.
The home-owner said another seller had failed to attract interest for a £3.5 million house and two other £2 million vendors had been snubbed.
‘I’ve lived here for years – there are lots of nice people but a lot of them are looking to move out.
‘I can think of five really decent families in this village who have got their houses on the market because they just don’t feel it’s safe enough for their children any more.
‘There are random people walking around the village all the time. You don’t know where they are from.
‘There’s always people coming back and forth and they are not locals – teenage boys in black masks. There’s drugs, there’s blatant anti-social behaviour. People just take and take and take.
‘Mine has been on the market for six months and I’ve had no viewings at all. But there are others in the same position – two at £2 million, one at £3.5 million. They’re just not moving.
‘There’s one over there that has six bedrooms, plus a gym, plus a cinema, that’s not sold. Then there’s a massive one that’s been renovated. It’s been on for ages and hasn’t sold.
‘We haven’t dropped the price yet and there is the option to rent it out but we don’t want to do that.
‘They are big family properties but the location is good – you can walk into Windsor within an hour, there are schools but people aren’t tempted because it’s just a mess.
‘It used to be a genuinely lovely village and people now just seem to come here to do what they want.
‘The Manor Hotel’s owners didn’t tell anyone what they were going to do with it, they haven’t put any money into it. It’s a listed building but they’ve let it go to rack and ruin.
‘They are making ridiculous amounts of money out of the Government to keep doing this – and it’s to the detriment of everyone else. The business owners in the village treat everyone like crap.’
The King passes the village of Datchet en route to the castle. The residents say it is not a suitable place for an asylum hotel
The once idyllic village has become a hotbed of crime and anti-social behaviour according to locals
He added: ‘It can still look like the 1950s when its quiet around The Green.
‘But then you can get people pouring out of the pub on a Saturday afternoon, or the travellers parking their horses out front or having a bare knuckle boxing fight.
‘There’s also a lot of tension with the travelling community who live up at the other end of the village.
‘The new craze is door-kicking. Youths going round battering front doors and running a way – it happened to us the other week. ‘
So why aren’t they selling? Estate agent Brian Warren told MailOnline that the atmosphere of the village, which used to be a haven for celebrities, has now changed and is less appealling for buyers.
Mr Warren told MailOnline: ‘We know the hotel has affected the market because there are not many houses being sold next to the Datchet Mead.
‘It has really affected the area’s real estate because people do a search online and see that there are asylum seekers in the hotel. Some of the properties here become unsellable in a sense.
‘It used to be a nice hotel. People like George Best and other celebrities used to go there on a Sunday but then that all changed.’
Online property portal Home.co.uk suggests that the typical time for a Datchet property to sell in January 2007 was just 48 days – with terraced houses shifting quickest in just 17.
Now, it takes an average of 133 days – more than four months – for a house to shift. Semi-detached properties take longest of all, more than half a year.
And MailOnline research has revealed that some of the village’s grandest homes have been sitting on the market for months.
Each of these homes sits within walking distance of numerous state and independent schools, and a railway station with regular services to and from London – which should make them attractive prospects.
There is no suggestion that the sellers of these homes have chosen to sell because of the presence of asylum seekers.
Among the homes for sale is Patrixbourne, described as a ‘stunning, historically significant property’ dating as far back as the late 1800s.
The Manor Hotel in Datchet, where asylum seekers have been housed since 2022. The hotel will be released by the Home Office this May
Patrixbourne, a grand home in Datchet, has been on the market since last November
It boasts six opulent bedrooms and a wealth of period fixtures and fittings, but is yet to be sold
It has an asking price of £1.75million – above average for the village, but made up for with lush surroundings
With an asking price of £1.75million it isn’t cheap, but makes up for the cost by way of six bedrooms, three bathrooms and a wealth of original period features including wooden floors, fireplaces, cornices and picture rails.
Despite this, it has sat on the market since November last year, after previously being sold in September 2020 for £830,000, according to data from estate agents Zoopla.
One of Datchet’s main residential streets is the cul-de-sac of Montagu Road, where several properties are on the market.
Pear Tree House is a grand six-bed, three-bathroom house that was rebuilt from the ground up in 2022.
It has a games room, a study, a store room and, to the rear, an outbuilding with another store as well as a gym.
It was listed in February this year for £1,850,000, and reduced last month by £100,000. It remains on the market.
Further along Montagu Road is another detached home with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, seeking £1.8million – and is one of the longest lurkers on the local listings.
Zoopla data suggests it was first listed in August 2024 with a guide price of £2million. A month later, £150,000 – 7.5 per cent – of the value was knocked off the tag in a bid to attract sellers.
Six months later, in March, another £5,000 was taken off – with offers over £1.8million now invited. Nevertheless, it remains unsold.
There may be some relief on the horizon for the locals of Datchet, however – that may prompt some of those with homes on the market to reconsider selling up.
Datchet’s railway station (pictured) has dozens of services a day, many going to London in under an hour
Pear Tree House in Datchet’s Montagu Road has been on the market since February – but has already seen its price reduced
It was reduced by £100,000 after just a month of listing – despite its thoroughly modern fittings
Elsewhere on Montagu Road, this £1.8milion detached house has also been struggling for attention
Gary Muir, 67, who used to be a councillor in the village, said: ‘It has disrupted the area. We want our hotel back so our residents can pop in for a drink or a nice meal.
‘It really does affect the local community and the house prices around here. Parents from the nearby school are particularly concerned for their children.
‘Nobody has done any particular harm but residents want the area back to the picturesque village it used to be.
‘It has caused a lot of residents to complain and they really should find another place. Everyone deserves a home and to be looked after but not in Datchet, which is practically the entrance to Windsor Castle.
‘Datchet is a very popular place to live and there has to be cheaper places to do this. I guess everyone says not in our village but it used to be a lovely hotel where people would go to watch sport or have a drink but that has been taken away from us.’
‘This is the gateway to Windsor, so there is a lot of concern from all residents and we are hoping to get it back to normal,’ Mr Muir, who has lived in the village for 20 years added.
One woman living across the road from the hotel said: ‘There is not any trouble that I have experienced but I can understand why they are now removing the asylum seekers.
‘I don’t think it is the right location to house the asylum seekers because it is a nice hotel property right in the middle of the village. I think it should be restored to being a hotel. It is a shame that it is now closed down.
‘I think these sorts of things sometimes affect the price or how desirable an area is because people worry about problems. The council really should look at other places to house them. It is supposed to be a hotel in the middle of the village for everyone to use.’
Gary Muir, 67, who used to be a councillor in the village, claimed the migrants had disrupted the area
A local shop owner said: ‘The hotel does not really fit in with the village’s location – it’s known for its tourism with Windsor Castle and Legoland just up the road. Tourists used to stay in the hotels and have wedding parties but not anymore.
‘The resident’s are just not happy. It is a very conservative area and it has very strong links with the Royal Family who drive through every so often so everyone wants things clean and tidy.’
Residents are expecting asylum seekers in the hotel to be removed from the property on May 29 after the Government’s contract with owners of MH hotels, brothers Sam and Mandip Gill.
One individual known to the Gill brothers told MailOnline: ‘The contract ends in about 40 days and I know the owners are going ballistic about it because they wanted it for another six months as I think they have made millions from it over the years…
‘My main gripe is that the owners of the hotel are greedy. They have two per room and they are giving no support to the people they are housing.
‘They also never, ever spoke to the people in the village to tell them about the situation and how long they had these contracts for.
‘People have gone ballistic with the lack of information – they are not asking for much, just to know what is going on.
‘There has been a lot of rubbish left lying around the place and the houses nearby have complained about this but there is nothing ever done about it. They never communicate with people which is crazy.’
One mother in the neighbourhood said: ‘It’s not particularly affected us particularly. We are an interacial family so frankly it was really nice to see people of colour in the area and I know that is a different take on what a lot of people around here think.
‘I appreciate it is a lovely prominent hotel and people will want a change but the asylum seekers are moving on now.
‘It is difficult because I appreciate how it is affecting the commerce and house prices in a small, cute village but at the same time people not being housed and not being properly looked after is abhorrent to me and my husband.
‘I have not seen any bad behaviour, just people coming and going who look a bit lost or do not know the area as well.’
Residents say that the migrant men do not cause any specific harm but their presence is felt
Earlier this year the Home Office said that the Manor would be one of a handful of hotels that would no longer be used for asylum accommodation
David Buckley, a Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead councillor, defected from the Independents to Reform last week after becoming fed up with the authority’s failure to tackle local problems.
He said: ‘There was no interest in getting things done for the residents – it was all about party politics. I am about doing what is right for locals – that’s why I defected.
‘The hotel’s owners have a contract with the Government brings them a huge amount of money. I tried to tell the council that we need to get that councillor but they wouldn’t listen.
‘For too long now, Datchet has been an open door for bad people. I want to shut that door, lock it and put an alarm on it.’
Earlier this year the Home Office said that the Manor would be one of a handful of hotels that would no longer be used for asylum accommodation as of this May.
In a letter to local MP Jack Rankin, reported by the Maidenhead Advertiser, a senior Home Office official said the contract would be terminated ‘before the end of May 2025’.
‘Any residents currently accommodated in the hotel will be moving to other parts of our asylum estate and we aim to complete all relocations in advance of the final closure date,’ the official said.
Striking a congratulatory – and relieved – note, Mr Rankin said it was ‘great news’ for villagers who had had asylum seekers ‘thrust on their community with next to no notice’.
