‘Entirely false’: Westone Manor boss responds to allegations over hotel guests in Northampton
The owner of a Northampton hotel has “categorically denied” allegations the hotel is used to house the homeless.
Harry Sookun, owner and executive director of Westone Manor Hotel in Northampton, spoke out after a member of the public wrote to West Northamptonshire Council to allege that the hotel was not a place to house “these people”, raising concerns about anti-social behaviour.
In December, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that Westone Manor Hotel, just off the Wellingborough Road, confirmed that it was currently accommodating people who are temporarily homeless through the local council. At the time, residents complained about antisocial behaviour, public urination and drug deals near the hotel.
But Mr Sookun told the Chronicle & Echo that he “categorically denied” the recent claims.
"For the avoidance of doubt, Westone Manor Hotel has not accommodated any guests placed by the council, homelessness services, or any similar authority for the past 12 months,” Mr Sookun said.
"Any guests currently staying at the hotel are standard paying customers booking through normal commercial channels, including platforms such as Booking.com, corporate bookings, travel agents, and direct reservations, exactly as any normal hotel operates. If any local authority guests have been placed, they would have been booked through a booking platform.
“While the hotel did previously participate in temporary accommodation arrangements in the past, these arrangements ended in May 2024 and were discontinued by us. Following this, substantial investment and refurbishment works were carried out to return the hotel fully to mainstream hospitality operations,” Mr Sookun said.
"The ongoing suggestion that the hotel is operating as a “halfway house” or accommodating individuals involved in criminal or antisocial behaviour is entirely false,” he added.
A WNC spokesman responded saying the council had previously worked with the local community to tackle antisocial behaviour in the area, that no decision had been taken to stop using the hotel, and that its more recent use had been for a small number of short-term emergency accommodation cases.
A spokesman said: “In 2024 the council worked with the local community to address anti-social behaviour in the area. Some of this was linked with the Westone Hotel and involved enforcement of the existing Public Spaces Protection Order, which remains in place.
“The council’s previous use of the hotel was for long-term, temporary accommodation and it was agreed at the time that this would be limited, but no decision was ever taken not to use the hotel.
“More recent use has been for a small number of cases where short-term, emergency accommodation was required to support people back into the wider community. These decisions are taken with both the individuals and the local community in mind.
“We have no evidence that our recent use of the hotel has resulted in any kind of inappropriate behaviour, but if anyone does experience such issues, they should report them on 0300 126 7000.”