Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Eight Acres in Elgin defeats ‘not well-founded’ Moray Council ruling to continue to house refugees

Owners appealed to the Scottish Government after being told they needed to apply for planning permission.

Entrance door to Eight Acres hotel.
Up to 50 asylum seekers stayed at the Elgin hotel. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

The Eight Acres hotel in Elgin has won a Scottish Government appeal to continue housing asylum seekers.

Bosses closed the building to members of the public when the first refugees arrived in May last year.

Paperwork was submitted to cover the change of those staying in the building at the time was permitted.

However, Moray Council refused the application and insisted planning permission was required.

The uncertainty raised concerns the refugees from Iran, Iraq and Eritrea would have to be rehomed again.

Berkshire-based owners LM Elgin 1 appealed to the Scottish Government, arguing the only thing that had changed was the circumstances of the guests – insisting no alterations had been made to the hotel itself.

What was Eight Acres planning row about?

The Eight Acres in Elgin was closed abruptly last year to allow it to house up to 50 refugees as part of a Home Office scheme.

The closure caused significant upset in the community with almost all staff made redundant, customers facing cancelled bookings and gym users chasing membership refunds.

Moray Council ruled planning permission was required to allow it to accommodate refugees, despite no physical alterations taking place, due to a “level of care” being provided.

View up entrance road leading to Eight Acres hotel.
When open to the public, the Eight Acres boasted dining and spa facilities. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Officials wrote that providing healthcare, clothing, English lessons and other services created a “material difference” in what the hotel was used for.

However, the Scottish Government reporter rejected that argument – describing the council’s reason for refusal as “not well-founded”.

Official Paul Cackette wrote: “Care is provided by way of medical care and treatment (when needed), English classes and the offering of other facilities designed to support residents unable, under Home Office rules, to work.

“All of these too are limited in their nature and duration. None comprise the provision of a significant element of care.”

What is Elgin life like at Eight Acres for refugees?

Asylum seekers receive just £9.10 a week from the UK Government to live on as well as being provided with a room and meals.

Following his visit to the Eight Acres hotel in Elgin in January as part of the appeal process, Mr Cackette noted details about what life is like for the refugees.

He reported four laptops being made available to share and the option to attend English classes organised by Moray Council at different times of the day.

Eight Acres hotel sign.
Services are being run at the Eight Acres to help refugees settle in the area while their applications are processed. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Meanwhile, cricket coaching, boxing lessons, football training and cycling proficiency courses are also being run at the hotel and elsewhere.

There are also initial health-checks for residents when they arrive followed by medical drop-in services being offered four or five days a week.

A dedicated welfare support officer is also on-site from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday with an out of hours service for emergencies.

Conversation