Homeowners of multi-million pound properties in Datchet, a leafy village near Windsor Castle, claim they are unable to sell their homes due to asylum seekers being housed at the local Manor Hotel.
Since 2022, dozens of asylum seekers have been accommodated at the village's luxury hotel, sparking concerns among residents.
Some homeowners have put their properties on the market after what they describe as a deterioration in the area.
One resident 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."
Some homeowners in Datchet have decided to put their properties on the market
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Properties worth up to £3.5million are reportedly sitting unsold for months.
A father in the village told how his seven-bedroom house, on the market for nearly £2million, has not attracted a single viewer in six months.
He claims other luxury properties are facing similar issues, including a £3.5million house and two other £2million homes.
"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," he said.
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Since 2022, dozens of asylum seekers have been accommodated at the village's luxury hotel
Google Street View
According to property portal Home.co.uk, the average selling time in Datchet has increased from 48 days in 2007 to 133 days now.
Some grand homes have been listed since late 2024, with price reductions failing to attract buyers.
Estate agent Brian Warren told MailOnline that the village's atmosphere has changed significantly.
"We know the hotel has affected the market because there are not many houses being sold next to the Datchet Mead," he said.
Warren said that some homes have become "unsellable" as potential buyers will do a search online and see that the hotel houses asylum seekers.
One homeowner expressed concerns about safety: "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."
The average selling time in Datchet has increased from 48 days in 2007 to 133 days in 2025
Wikimedia Commons
Gary Muir, a former councillor, added: "It has disrupted the area. We want our hotel back."
Relief is on the horizon for Datchet residents as the Home Office has confirmed the Manor Hotel will no longer house asylum seekers from May 2025.
In a letter to local Tory MP Jack Rankin, a senior Home Office official stated the contract would end "before the end of May 2025".
"Any residents currently accommodated in the hotel will be moving to other parts of our asylum estate," the official added.
Rankin described this as "great news" for villagers who had asylum seekers "thrust on their community with next to no notice".
The hotel's owners reportedly wanted to extend the contract, with one source claiming they have "made millions from it over the years".
