Fury as homeless camp springs up near Bournemouth migrant hotel
Coastal cliff-top scene sparks anger as residents criticize taxpayer-funded asylum hotel and fly camping crackdown
An illegal homeless encampment has appeared on Bournemouth's East Cliff, just 200 metres from the Britannia migrant hotel that houses asylum seekers, prompting outrage from beach hut owners and local residents.
The camp was set up in a clearing halfway up the town's famous 100‑foot cliff and includes a large parasol, a barbecue and artificial grass laid for walking. It is visible to hundreds of walkers who use the promenade each day.
The encampment sits directly above a row of sought-after beach huts, which tenants pay around £2,000 a year to rent. The sight has intensified criticism of funding for a Britannia migrant hotel nearby, which houses more than 100 asylum seekers while some locals say homeless people are left to “fall on hard times.” The new camp on Bournemouth’s cliffs marks the second time this year the clearing on East Cliff has been targeted by fly campers; in the earlier incident, beach hut tenants below complained of an unsightly mess that attracted rats and the site was cleared by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council after several weeks.
Residents previously gathered outside the Britannia Hotel with St George's flags and signs reading 'Illegal criminals out' and 'stop the boats.' The latest encampment runs counter to the council’s stance on fly camping along the seafront, where overnight camping is banned because it competes with local hotels and guest houses.
Stuart Henderson, 52, who has a beach hut within yards of the new encampment and lives near the zig-zag cliff path, said: "We pay a lot of money for the beach hut but it is getting very unsavoury down there. I should be able to sit outside my beach hut without having to look at an eyesore. It’s not a good look. Visitors coming out of hotels at the top of the cliff who walk down the zig zag path are going to take one look at that and say 'I’m not coming here again.' This is the second camp there we have had this year. The council doesn’t seem to solve the problem, they move it on and then it comes back. Whoever is in there has fallen on hard times and is homeless. Yet we can afford to spend a fortune putting people up in a hotel just a few yards away for free but we can’t sort out the homeless problem." He added that the situation is worsened by the perception that authorities welcome a migrant hotel while failing to address local hardship.
This month’s encampment comes amid national debate over taxpayer-funded hotels for asylum seekers. Earlier this summer, protests around the Home Office’s hotel arrangements drew crowds and slogans outside the Britannia and other sites, reflecting broader discontent with how the government handles asylum accommodation. Protesters also formed a group outside the Chine Hotel nearby in July, with banners and chants that underscored opposition to migrant accommodation policies.
BCP Council said it had been aware of the encampment and noted that overnight camping is prohibited in the seafront area. The authority has been approached for comment about the latest development.
The site on East Cliff is not new: the December 2024 image previously captured the same area before council action cleared the clearing after several weeks. The current encampment adds to ongoing tensions over housing, migration and the balance between services for residents and obligations to asylum seekers in the region.