Asylum seekers blocked from hotel after massive protests erupt
A council has won its fight to temporarily stop asylum seekers being placed in a hotel at the centre of angry protests.
Epping Forest District Council has been granted a temporary High Court injunction blocking migrants from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping after tensions flared when a man staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
At a hearing on Friday, council lawyers argued that Somani Hotels, which owns the building, had breached planning rules because the site was no longer being used as a hotel, reports the Mirror.
They said the situation 'could not be much worse' and insisted restrictions had to be put in place before the end of the school summer holidays.
But barristers for the hotel company branded the move "draconian", claiming it would cause "hardship" to those inside and insisting "political views" were not grounds for an injunction.
They told the court that contracts to house asylum seekers had become a 'financial lifeline' for the business, which was running at just 1% occupancy in August 2022 when open to paying guests.
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Chris Whitbread, the leader of Epping Forest District Council, said: 'I am delighted. This is great news for our residents. The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community but today we have some great news."
He added: 'This is not the end of the matter. Having obtained an interim provision the next stage is for the council to return to the court and seek a permanent injunction.
"Home Office policy ignores the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents. Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance and showing that local people do have some say, whatever the Home Office thinks.'
The ruling was handed down by Mr Justice Eyre at 2pm on Tuesday. He had earlier ordered that Somani Hotels could not "accept any new applications" from asylum seekers until a decision was reached.
Piers Riley-Smith, representing the hotel firm, told the court that "disagreement with Government policy" did not justify such a "draconian" injunction and said it would cause "hardship" both to the company and those living there.
Mr Riley-Smith said: "It is clear that recent protests have expanded far beyond the local community and have gone into concerns about wider ideological and political issues from those outside the community.
"Those particular ideological, non-community concerns are not relevant to planning."
The hotel was the focal point of a series of protests after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with trying to kiss a teenage girl. Kebatu, who was housed at the hotel at the time of the incident, denies the allegations and is due to stand trial later this month.
On Thursday night, violent scenes erupted outside the hotel with eight police officers injured as protesters clashed with cops. Those hurt suffered cuts, grazes and hand injuries.
Footage shared on social media showed a police van driving towards a group of protesters and appearing to hit at least one of them.
Commenting on the footage, a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police told the Mirror: "Met officers attended Epping, Essex on the evening of Thursday, 17 July, following a request by Essex Police to support with an ongoing protest and counter-protest.
"On arrival, officers were met with significant hostility from protestors, with police vehicles damaged and officers threatened with violence.
During their attendance, officers attempted to leave the immediate area due to safety concerns and were subsequently blocked in by the group of protestors using barriers. During this, a police van made contact with one of the protesters."
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