The "Aurora Campaign" was a campaign by various NoBorders groups against the plans of the Aurora Hotel Group to turn their four star hotel at Gatwick into a detention centre.

On Monday 25th January 2010 Arora's planning application was defeated by 14 votes to 1 at Crawley Council's Planning Meeting, and the Hotel Group dropped their plans.

No Border activists held a demo outside Crawley Town Hall before the meeting and a number went into the meeting.

PRESS RELEASE ***FOR IMMEDIATE DISSEMINATION***

STARTS:

The attached statement in opposition to the planning application by Arora International Hotels Ltd. for a change of use of the Mercure Hotel, Povey Cross Road, Crawley, allowing its conversion into an Immigration Removal Centre, has been sent to all 37 Crawley Borough Councillors and to Laura Moffet MP for Crawley. The nature of this planning application and the exisitng structure means that any resulting detention centre could only be used to hold families and children.

Mercure Hotel Protest - Statement By Participants

Today Monday 11th Janaury a group of 10 people from Brighton No Borders took part in a peaceful protest at the Mercure Hotel, Povey Cross Road, Crawley, demonstrating against Arora Hotels International Ltd.’s plans to turn the 254-bed four-star Mercure hotel into the third immigration detention centre in the Gatwick area.