Three senior judges will rule on Friday on whether to overturn a temporary injunction which is set to block asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
Somani Hotels, which owns the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, and the Home Office are seeking to challenge a High Court ruling that will stop 138 asylum seekers from being housed there beyond September 12.
At the end of a hearing on Thursday, Lord Justice Bean, sitting with Lady Justice Nicola Davies and Lord Justice Cobb, said that they would hand down their judgment on Friday afternoon.
He said: âBecause of the great urgency of this matter, we will aim to give judgment at 2pm tomorrow.â
He continued: âIf it proves impractical for us to meet the deadline, we will let people know in advance.â
Mr Justice Eyre granted Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) an interim injunction last week after the authority claimed that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using the Bell as accommodation for asylum seekers.
Other councils, including Labour-run authorities, have since publicly announced their intention to seek legal advice over whether they could achieve similar injunctions for hotels in their areas.
The Home Office is also seeking to challenge the judgeâs decision not to let it intervene in the case.
In written submissions for Thursdayâs hearing, Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, said Mr Justice Eyre had âno regard to the obvious risk that other local planning authorities would adopt the same approachâ as EFDC.
Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, in written submissions on Thursday, said that Mr Justice Eyre âoverlookedâ the âhardshipâ that would be caused to asylum seekers if they were required to move.
He said that the âextremely high-profile nature of the issueâ created a ârisk of a precedent being setâ.
The council is opposing the appeal bids, with barrister Philip Coppel KC stating in written submissions that the case âsets no precedentâ and there was âno compelling reasonâ for the injunction to be overturned.
In court, Robin Green, also representing the authority, said it had not previously taken enforcement action against Somani Hotels over the use of the Bell as it had been âunproblematicâ.
The Bell Hotel became the focal point of several protests and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied the offence and has been on trial this week.
Another man who was living at the site, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several other men have been charged over alleged disorder outside the hotel.
The hotel previously housed asylum seekers from May 2020 to March 2021; from October 2022 to April 2024; and since April 2025.
Single males were also housed at the hotel between October 2022 and April 2024 but this year marked the first time the council had taken enforcement action, when it issued legal proceedings earlier this month.
