Mims Davies presents petition to reopen the Copthorne Hotel in Sussex for business
A petition has been launched in parliament by East Grinstead and Uckfield MP Mims Davies after it received 563 constituent and 1,364 online signatures.
Details in the petition include for the Copthorne Hotel to be returned to its former use as a major local employer, valuable Gatwick Airport accommodation, and a highly valued community hub, in line with the Mid Sussex District Council motion passed in September 2025.
The hotel, based in Effingham Park, Copthorne village, Gatwick, has been housing legal Afghan arrivals with Indefinite Leave to Remain under the Government Afghan Resettlement Programme.
This came after Operation Pitting evacuation from Kabul in August 2021, where Afghan nationals fled and were provided suitable accommodation in the UK due to the Taliban uprising in August 2021.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the Afghan Resettlement Programme, has used the Copthorne Hotel as a temporary accommodation since spring 2025 and the resettlement programme closed to new applicants in July last year,
The hotel has been closed to the public for five years, therefore local communities, councils and MPs have been hoping to reopen its doors for business.
However the Ministry of Defence say the Afghan Resettlement Programme isn’t due to end until 2029 (end of this Parliament).
Mims Davies MP spoke to parliament last Monday (September 14) and stated: “I rise to present this petition on behalf of 563 constituents from East Grinstead, Uckfield and the surrounding villages, as well as a further 1,364 people who have signed online.
“For over five years, the Copthorne Hotel has housed asylum seekers, depriving the community of both a local employer and a much-used and much-loved community space. Since 2023, my constituents have seen other hotels opened for asylum accommodation close before the Copthorne Hotel. There is a palpable sense of frustration within the community.
“They have played their part and the length of time this arrangement has continued is simply unacceptable. My constituents urgently want clarity on when this hotel will close.
"The prayer of the petition is as follows. The petitions of the residents of the constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield declare that the Copthorne Hotel in Copthorne should be returned to its former use as a major local employer, valuable Gatwick Airport accommodation and a highly valued community hub, in line with the Mid-Sussex District Council motion passed in September 2025.
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to facilitate the return of the Copthorne Hotel, used as an asylum accommodation for the last six years, to its original and proper use at the earliest opportunity and before the current planning permission expires.”
Mid Sussex District Council did not wish to add further comment.