Locals are pleading for a migrant hotel on a quiet country road to be shut down because its residents are making their lives a misery.
The Sandpiper Hotel, just outside historic Chesterfield in rural Derbyshire, has been used to accommodate asylum seekers for around two years.
But residents claim antisocial behaviour by the residents is now getting out of hand, complaining of noise, litter and groups of men ‘loitering’, asking for money and looking through people’s windows. One said there had been a slump in local house prices.
The hotel, which has 46 bedrooms, was previously a three-star Best Western popular with visitors to the Peak District before it closed down.
The site was then reopened under a Home Office contract to house asylum seekers, though locals claimed they were ‘not consulted’.
In December 2023, a 27-year-old man living at the hotel was arrested on suspicion of possessing explosives, although he was later released on bail pending inquiries – with officers saying nothing found at the site posed any danger to the public.
Today, locals living on an otherwise quiet and peaceful street near the hotel complained of the disruption it was causing to their lives.
The Sandpiper Hotel, just outside historic Chesterfield in rural Derbyshire, has been used to accommodate asylum seekers for around two years
The hotel is situated on a road that passes through the countryside not far from Chesterfield
Gary Cook, who’s family used to run the hotel, said: ‘I think there are about 80 blokes in there and it has lowered the value of the houses around here and it is not great for the hotel’
Shannon Freeman, 31, said: ‘We see the comings and goings.
‘They have been on the street looking through people’s windows. We got cameras and that seemed to stop.
‘The police were there just a couple of minutes ago.
‘I have been here since this street was built three years ago and the asylum seekers have been here for two years.
‘They were fine at first. It is only in the last six months they have started to behave in a bad way.
‘We have been warned on Facebook not to walk on the trail behind the Sandpiper because of talk of men following women through the park.
‘We don’t know their history or where they come from and the walk backs directly onto the hotel.’
Gary Cook’s family used to own the hotel but it changed hands a number of times before the contract with the Home Office.
A group of men stroll through the hotel car park on a sunny midweek afternoon
The hotel, which has 46 bedrooms, was previously a three-star Best Western popular with visitors to the Peak District before it closed down
Mr Cook, who lives nearby, said: ‘I think there are about 80 blokes in there and it has lowered the value of the houses around here and it is not great for the hotel.
‘I think it is totally run down now. So it will be hard to get over the stigma and turn it back into a hotel.
‘It is not an ideal scenario. It is a shame to see it laid to waste. I do blame profiteering by the hotel groups.’
Chelsea Lodge, a 23-year-old mother of two, declared: ‘I have come off the bus three times and they have been running up asking for money.
‘So, I would rather just get rid of them to be honest. I don’t know why they have put them here. I know most of them are all right but there are a few that are not sensible to be around.
‘It is not right that they are there and the homeless do not get anything. It is not an ideal hotel for them anyway.
‘I have been walking in the woods at the back with my partner and we have had two guys walking behind us. We wondered what are they doing.
‘There are a lot of kids around here. They are building a kiddie’s play park too. It is just not the right area for asylum seekers.’
A man sitting outside the hotel in rural Derbyshire
A police car was parked outside the site when MailOnline visited one midweek afternoon
Mother-of-one Marina Tamasauskas, 41, whose grandfather was from Lithuania, said: ‘I am not racist but they are causing problems.
‘They have been loitering on the streets. One of the blokes was filming out the windows.
‘My girl is in Year Six and and normally walks home alone from school.
‘But I had to walk up and get her a couple of months ago when we heard some men were hanging around.’
Caroline Winn, a 38-year-old mother of four, said: ‘It needs to stop. It used to be a beautiful hotel.
‘We see groups of them walking up the road in the middle of the night with bats and golf clubs. They are not going to play golf are they?
‘I cannot let my 14-year-old daughter walk my dog any more up and down the trail. Two girls got accosted, filmed, and harassed by them.
‘There is no problem with people who come here and want to work and contribute. It is just sad that my daughter cannot walk her dog any more.’
The hotel is one of many being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers
An aerial view of the hotel (on the left) with houses opposite
Rosie Furniss, 29, added: ‘It is not ideal. I have a four month old boy and dare not take him for a walk with the dog because I have heard of them following young girls.
‘The bomb squad were there not long ago. The hotel was meant to be accommodating women and children here but it is only younger men.
‘I dare not leave my house sometimes on my own. It is good I have a big dog but I don’t feel safe. We are actually considering moving because of this.
‘The things I have heard about what is going on there make me feel we just have to move. It is a shame. But I just cannot see another way.
‘If you complain you get called racist. But how they are acting has got nothing to do with race.’
Residents living directly opposite the hotel were keen to give their opinions but not their names because of fear of being targeted.
One woman said: ‘They’re just messy. They throw things on the floor and don’t pick them up and put their washing on the shrubbery across the road. I just wish it was not happening.
‘I take no notice of them most of the time but they are not very friendly. I was trying to get off the bus with a lot of shopping and had to squeeze past six of them getting on.’
A male pensioner added: ‘They are getting everything for nothing and don’t know how to behave. When they have a drink of coffee they just chuck the cup away. They cannot be made to tidy up.
‘You cannot go in to complain because when you get to the door someone from the Home Office comes out and tells us they can do what they like.
‘There used to be a number so you could ring up the hotel but that has gone. It is getting out of hand and all we can do is complain to one another.
‘I have never voted Tory but I would not not vote for Labour now to save my life. The local elections will show them which way the wind is blowing.’
Another woman said: ‘They keep themselves to themselves. But no one was consulted about them moving in. They just appeared.
‘We had no idea. It was a derelict hotel they took over. The worst thing is they chuck litter everywhere or are sitting around smoking weed.
‘If they come here for asylum they should at least put their rubbish in the bin. I have a sixteen year old daughter and don’t feel she can walk on the trail behind the hotel because there are so many of them walking around in groups.
‘We don’t know their history. If you go off the beaten track you do not know if you are being followed.
‘My daughter likes to go for a run but she cannot go where she wants because as a female she does not feel safe.’
Police were called to reports of a man acting suspiciously at the Sandpiper Hotel in on December 21.
A 27-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances, contrary to Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883.
Officers confirmed at the time nothing at the hotel was found to pose any danger to the public and the man was released on police bail while inquiries continue.
MailOnline has contacted the Home Office for comment.
