Status of Bracknell hotel clarified after former soldier dies
The Grange Hotel has been closed to the public since December 2022
Last updated 12th May 2026
The status of a hotel used to house Afghans in Bracknell has been clarified following the death of an armed forces operative in the town.
The Grange Hotel in the town centre has been closed to the public since December 2022.
The hotel is not being used to house asylum seekers.
Instead, it is being used to house people from Afghanistan who have arrived in the UK through government schemes.
These people have been granted indefinite leave to remain and arrived in the country legally.
The Afghans housed under this scheme were offered protection because they worked with and helped UK forces in Afghanistan.
The status of the hotel has been clarified following the death of First Lieutenant Abdul Wali Mamozai, 33, who was found dead in a car park in Bracknell town centre on Sunday, April 26.
Mr Mamozai, who served as an Afghan special forces operative, was reportedly living at The Grange prior to his death.
A total of five men aged 35, 27, 33, 33 and 20 were arrested as part of a Thames Valley Police investigation into Mr Mamozai’s death, which is being treated as an alleged murder.
The use of the hotel was clarified by Bracknell Forest Council last year.
The then-leader of the council, Mary Temperton, said: “Bracknell Forest does not have any migrant hotels in the borough housing asylum seekers.
“We have transition accommodation run by the Ministry of Defence that is currently home to 194 Afghan people in family groups – they have indefinite leave to remain, so are not asylum seekers, refugees or illegal immigrants.”
This was provided in response to a legal challenge against the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, which ultimately failed at the High Court in October last year and the Court of Appeal in March.
The status of the people who live in The Grange is therefore different from asylum seekers, who arrive in the country unannounced and can be housed in hotels while their claims are processed.
The council received detailed legal advice on the planning status of the hotel and concluded that it was lawful last September.