Essex hotel owner to challenge court ruling banning asylum seekers

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The owner of an Essex hotel that has become a flashpoint for controversy over asylum seekers is set to challenge a High Court ruling on the matter on Thursday.

Somani Hotels Limited owns the Bell Hotel in Epping, which houses a number of asylum seekers and has seen multiple protests in recent weeks.

On 19 August, the High Court handed down a ruling ordering the hotel to stop accommodating asylum seekers at the site by 12 September.

It followed Epping Forest District Council asking a judge to grant a temporary injunction, claiming that the company had breached planning rules.

The council argued that the hotel had become a “feeding ground for unrest” after the series of violent protests resulted in multiple arrests and saw police officers injured.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper made a last-minute attempt to halt the asylum-seekers’ removal, arguing that other councils would make similar applications for migrant accommodation in their areas.

Protesters outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping
Protesters outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping (PA Wire)

Dismissing Ms Cooper’s bid and granting the injunction, Mr Justice Eyre said that the council had not “definitively established” that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules.

However, “the strength of the claimant’s case is such that it weighs in favour” of granting the injunction, he said.

Court listings show that Somani Hotels will have its bid to appeal against the ruling heard on Thursday at the Court of Appeal.

The listing also states that the Home Office is seeking to appeal against the ruling at the same hearing, as well as challenge Mr Justice Eyre’s decision not to allow the department to intervene in the case.

The Bell Hotel has been the focal point of several protests and counter-protests in recent weeks, after a resident was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp earlier described the High Court ruling as “a moment of relief for the people of Epping”, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it was “a victory for the mums and dads” in the local area, “who just want their children to be safe”.

Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, said that “shortage of asylum accommodation is acute” and warned that “there could be similar applications made elsewhere, aggravating the pressures on the asylum estate”.