Unacceptable to have Epping migrant hotel near schools, court told

Telegraph

7 days ago

15 August 2025 11:49am
11:49AM
Case against Epping hotel 'overwhelming', court hears
The High Court has heard that the case against the Epping hotel is 'overwhelming'.
'Collectively, this is an overwhelming case for an injunction to restrain the breach of planning control that is taking place at the Bell Hotel,' said Philip Coppel KC, for Epping Forest District Council.
'There is nothing on the other side of the balance that goes anywhere to displace that. The defendant has not been upfront with the local planning authority in relation to the use being made of the Bell Hotel, and this goes back a long way.
'The defendant did not advise or notify the local planning authority to seek their views on whether this would be a lawful use in their view. It was not until two months later, when Epping Forest received a complaint about the use, that the matter came to the planning department's attention.'
Mr Coppel continued that the change of use by the owner of the Bell Hotel, Somani Hotels Limited, was 'surreptitious' and that there was a 'strength' and 'universality' of feeling against the hotel's current use.
11:44AM
Pupils at five schools 'at risk' because of Epping migrant hotel
Pupils at five schools within 'easy walking distance' of the Bell Hotel are at risk because migrants are housed there, the council has said.
Legal documents submitted by Epping Forest District Council also describe how a residential care home, where many residents have 'dementia, Parkinson's disease, or a range of mental or physical disabilities', is just 300 metres away from the site.
Epping St John's School, a Church of England co-educational school with approximately 1,050 students of both sexes between 11 and 18-years-old, is an 11-minute walk from the Bell Hotel, the documents detail.
Meanwhile Ivy Chimneys Primary School – attended by 315 boys and girls – is a 13-minute walk from the Bell Hotel.
Referring to the five closest schools, Philip Coppel KC, for the council, said: 'The continued placement of asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel represents a risk to those students which is unacceptable.'
Mr Coppel added that the 'enhanced risk' results from 'a fundamentally different use of The Bell Hotel from that which is lawful'.
11:40AM
Epping hotel is 'feeding ground for unrest', court told
The council's barrister has told the High Court that the hotel had become a 'feeding ground for unrest'.
In written submissions, Philip Coppel KC said the hotel's closure was necessary for 'restoring the safety of nearby residents' and removing 'the catalyst for violent protests in public places'.
'Allowing the status quo to continue is wholly unacceptable, providing a feeding ground for unrest and protest, a danger to school age students about to start the new school year, a valid source of anxiety for their parents and teachers and disfigurement for the local environment,' he wrote.
Speaking in court, Mr Coppel added: 'It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully. It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.'
11:36AM
Housing migrants at hotel 'breaches planning rules'
The High Court has heard that housing migrants at the Bell Hotel is a breach of planning rules.
Philip Coppel KC, for Epping Forest district council, told the court there had been a 'material change of use' without the appropriate planning permissions being sought.
'The sole lawful planning use of the hotel is a hotel use, but that is not what the Bell Hotel is currently being used for,' he said. 'It is not being used as a hotel; it has been used to place asylum seekers.
'They do not choose to go to the Bell Hotel as a person might choose to patronise a hotel, or stay at a hotel. There is no agreement between them and the hotel, they do not choose the duration of their stay... they do not choose the type of room.
'For them, the Bell Hotel is no more a hotel than a borstal to a young offender.'
11:34AM
Asylum hotel is 'very serious problem', court hears
Opening the hearing in London, Philip Coppel KC, for the local authority, said: 'Epping Forest District Council comes to this court seeking an injunction because it has a very serious problem.
'It is a problem that is getting out of hand; it is a problem that is causing a great anxiety to those living in the district.
'The problem has arisen because of a breach of planning control by the defendant. The defendant owns what is called the Bell Hotel.'
11:33AM
Asylum seekers 'should not be housed near schools'
The court has heard that the hotel must close because there are schools nearby.
Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, argued that sexual assault charges against two of its residents made its closure necessary.
He told the court: 'Having this sort of thing go on in such a concentration of schools with no measures in place to stop a repetition is not acceptable.'
Hadush Kebatu, 38, last month appeared in court charged with sexual assault against a 14-year-old girl.
On Wednesday, resident Mohammed Sharwarq, 32, appeared in court on sexual assault and common assault charges.
11:31AM
Council sues Epping hotel owner to end use for asylum seekers
Epping Forest District Council has brought legal action at the High Court against Somani Hotels Limited, the hotel chain which owns The Bell, claiming it should not be used to house migrants.
The authority has applied for a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from being housed at the hotel, which has been the centre of protests in recent weeks.