Asylum seekers to be removed from Essex hotel as council granted injunction
The injunction sought by the council meant the hotel's owner, Somani Hotels Limited, would have had to stop housing asylum seekers there within 14 days.
The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction, but extended the time limit by which the hotel must stop housing asylum seekers to September 12.
He also refused to give Somani Hotels the green light to challenge his ruling, but the company could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to appeal against the judgment.
In his judgment, he said that while the council had not 'definitively established' that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, 'the strength of the claimant's case is such that it weighs in favour' of granting the injunction.
He continued that the 'risk of injustice is greater' if a temporary injunction was not granted.
A further hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent is expected to be held at a later date, and is expected to last two days.
Several protests and counter-protests have been held in the town since a then-resident at the hotel was accused of trying to kiss a teenage girl.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month.
A second man who resides at the hotel, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several other men have been charged over disorder outside the hotel.
The council said last week it was seeking an injunction due to 'unprecedented levels of protest and disruption' in connection with asylum seeker accommodation.
Chris Whitbread, leader of the council, said the situation 'cannot go on' but the Government 'is not listening'.
At a hearing on Friday, barristers for the council said that the site's 'sole lawful use' was as a hotel and that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using it to house asylum seekers.
Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was 'wholly unacceptable' and provided a 'feeding ground for unrest'.
He said: 'There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.'
Mr Coppel continued: '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.'
He added: 'It really could not be much worse than this.'
Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, said that 'disagreement with Government policy' did not justify a 'draconian' injunction and that there would be 'hardship' caused to the company and those housed at the hotel.
He also said that contracts to house asylum seekers were a 'financial lifeline' for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.
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.'
Following the ruling, Mr Whitbread 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 continued: '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.'
Before judgment was handed down on Tuesday, barristers for the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, citing the 'substantial impact' caused to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers.
Edward Brown KC, for the department, told the court that moving asylum seekers in 'extremely short order' would cause a 'very significant operational burden' and 'particular acute difficulties' for the Government.
But Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the Home Office's bid, stating that the department's involvement was 'not necessary'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
8 minutes ago
- The Guardian
England to sell eight times the council homes it built last year, report finds
England will sell off more than eight times as many council homes in 2025-26 as were constructed the previous year, research has found. Right to buy is depleting council housing stock more quickly than public housing can be replaced, forcing people to spend more money on private market rents and obtain less secure tenancies, finds a report from the thinktank Common Wealth. Its analysis of government data found that the most social homes constructed by the government was 38,170 in 2023-24, and 2,850 for council housing, which contrasts with sell-offs through right to buy which reached 13,966 homes in 2023-24 and 8,656 in 2024-25. The report concludes that if the government wants to increase the supply of social rental housing quickly, it must invest in buying back and restoring homes sold off under right to buy, alongside more council housebuilding. Adam Peggs, the report's author, said: 'We need to pull every effective lever we can find to expand public housing. Council housing gave people secure, low-cost homes in the past. With the right framework, it can give people high-quality, genuinely affordable homes, with real democratic voice in the future too. But we need to build the political will to make it happen. 'Every day of delay is another day families languish in squalid temporary accommodation. The government has the tools to turn this emergency around – and more quickly than they might admit – they just need to use them.' The report, which is published on Thursday, is also calling for expanded 'right of first refusal' powers, enabling local authorities to be the preferred buyer when ex-social homes and private rental homes enter the market. Since 1980, 2.4m council homes have been sold off under right to buy, at a discount that Common Wealth calculated was valued at £194bn, accounting for house price appreciation, with 41% now belonging to private landlords. As a result, council homes have collapsed from accommodating about 30% of households in the late 1970s to 6% today, a decline of about 80%. Common Wealth's report analysed council buy-ups of existing homes for public and social housing in seven countries, and determined that funding and incentivising a national right to buy back scheme would be a cost-effective policy in the UK. The Spanish government has granted powers for a right of first refusal to the country's new national public housing company after Barcelona acquired 1,500 homes – more than one-fifth of new affordable homes in the city – through right of first refusal powers since 2016, often below their market value. The report also recommends a national rollout of a London scheme, in which the Greater London Authority bought 1,500 mostly ex-council homes in the first year of its right to buy back scheme. The New Economics Foundation (NEF) calculated that this would generate a net saving to the taxpayer within 16 years. A 2024 report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) concluded that buyouts would offer better value for public money, rather than paying housing benefit to private landlords or private temporary accommodation. Kwajo Tweneboa, a social housing campaigner and the author of Our Country in Crisis, said: 'Homes that were once publicly owned are now profit-generating assets for private landlords. That's the legacy of right to buy. Reversing that damage isn't just a nice idea. It's essential. 'Buying back ex-council homes and investing in a new generation of high-quality, genuinely affordable council homes must be the backbone of any serious plan to fix this crisis. That means central government stepping up with proper funding and power – not just warm words and weak targets.'
South Wales Guardian
34 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
How many asylum seekers are in UK hotels and why are they being housed there?
On Tuesday, Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the latest overall data. – How many asylum seekers are in hotels across the UK? The most recent Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels. – How many hotels are in use for asylum seekers? It is thought there were more than 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023. Labour said this has since been reduced to fewer than 210. – Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels? Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation, known as contingency accommodation, if they are awaiting assessment of their claim or have had a claim approved and there is not enough longer-term accommodation available. The Home Office provides accommodation to asylum seekers who have no other way of supporting themselves on a 'no choice' basis, so they cannot choose where they live. When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to accommodation such as hotels and large sites, like former military bases. In May, the National Audit Office said those temporarily living in hotels accounted for 35% of all people in asylum accommodation. – Is this likely to be a permanent arrangement? Labour has pledged to end the 'costly use of hotels to house asylum seekers in this Parliament' – which would be 2029, if not earlier. Campaigners and charities have long argued that hotels are not suitable environments to house asylum seekers. The Refugee Council said they 'cost the taxpayer billions, trap people in limbo and are flashpoints in communities' and urged the Government to 'partner with local councils to provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities'. – What is the Government saying since the legal ruling? Ministers are 'looking at a range of different contingency options' following Tuesday's ruling, according to security minister Dan Jarvis In the immediate aftermath of the judgment, border security minister Dame Angela Eagle repeated criticism of the previous Conservative government, saying Labour had 'inherited a broken asylum system'. She said the Government would 'continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns' around asylum hotels. – What options does the Home Office have now? Last month, amid protests outside the Bell Hotel and more migrants crossing the Channel, an extra 400 spaces were being prepared to house male asylum seekers at RAF Wethersfield in Essex. The former military site, which has a usual capacity of 800 beds, is expected to house more adult men on a short-term basis. The Labour Government scrapped the large site of the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset, earlier this year, while Napier Barracks in Folkestone, Kent, is also due to end housing asylum seekers and be returned to the Ministry of Defence in September. – Why were there protests outside the Bell Hotel? The hotel in Epping has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl – something he has denied and he is due to stand trial later in August. After the High Court's ruling, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage wrote in the Telegraph calling for Epping protests to inspire further action wherever there are concerns about the 'threat posed by young undocumented males' living in hotels. But on Tuesday more than 100 women's organisations wrote to ministers warning that vital conversations about violence against women and girls are being 'hijacked by an anti-migrant agenda' that fuels divisions and harms survivors. The joint statement, including from Rape Crisis England & Wales and Refuge, said: 'We have been alarmed in recent weeks by an increase in unfounded claims made by people in power, and repeated in the media, that hold particular groups as primarily responsible for sexual violence. 'This not only undermines genuine concerns about women's safety, but also reinforces the damaging myth that the greatest risk of gender-based violence comes from strangers.'
South Wales Guardian
35 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Councils consider legal bids as ministers face Epping hotel ruling aftermath
Ministers are now bracing for further legal challenges from councils after Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction by the High Court on Tuesday. The ruling blocks asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in the Essex town, and current residents must be removed by September 12. On Wednesday, several local authorities, including some run by the Labour Party, said they were looking at their options to take similar action. Carol Dean, leader of Labour-controlled Tamworth Council, said her authority had previously decided against legal action but was now 'carefully assessing' what the decision might mean for the area, adding it was a 'potentially important legal precedent'. A spokesperson for Wirral Council, which has seen protests outside a hotel in Hoylake, said the authority was 'considering the detail' of Tuesday's judgment. Conservative-run Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire has said it was taking legal advice 'as a matter of urgency', while Tory-run East Lindsey District Council in Lincolnshire said officers are investigating and 'will take appropriate action'. Reform UK-led councils, West Northamptonshire Council and Staffordshire County Council, also said the authorities would look at the options available after the High Court ruling. When Robert Jenrick was immigration minister he grew the number of illegal migrants living in free hotels to 56,000. He is no friend of Epping. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 20, 2025 Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, said: 'The control and protection of our country's borders is a national issue, but the impact of central government policy is felt in communities across Staffordshire.' It comes as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has indicated that councils run by his party will consider their own legal challenges. However, a number of these councils do not have responsibility for planning permission, which may limit their ability to launch legal challenges. Other authorities have ruled out legal action, with the leader of Labour-run Newcastle City Council saying she was 'confident' the council could end the use of hotels without going to court. Karen Kilgour said: 'We recognise that people seeking asylum include families, women, and children, many of whom have faced unimaginable trauma. 'Newcastle has a proud history of offering sanctuary, and we stand ready to play our part – but it must be done in a way that works for our city and supports the dignity and wellbeing of those who come here.' Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel after it had been at the centre of protests in recent weeks. The demonstrations came after an asylum seeker, who was staying there, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He denies the charge and is due to stand trial later this month. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could 'interfere' with the department's legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a 'precedent'. Reacting to the ruling on Wednesday, security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio: 'We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do.' Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: 'Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. 'Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have. A STATEMENT FROM NIGEL FARAGE This is a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping. They do not want their young women being assaulted on the streets. This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far right, and have won. They represent the vast… — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 19, 2025 'I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. 'That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them.' On Wednesday shadow home secretary Chris Philp also pressed ministers not to re-house the asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel into other hotels or flats 'sorely needed by young people'. In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Mr Philp wrote: 'Up and down the country people are furious about the number of illegal migrants being housed in hotels – which rose in the nine months following the election under Labour. Following the ruling in Epping and the ongoing migrant crisis I have written to Yvette Cooper calling for: 1. An emergency cabinet meeting (they had one for recognising Palestine recently) to bring forward plans for the immediate deportation of all illegal immigrants upon… — Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) August 20, 2025 'People are also concerned that you are now moving people from hotels into apartments and other accommodation which is sorely needed by young people here who are struggling under this Labour Government.' The Conservative MP also called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to set up plans to deport migrants crossing the Channel on arrival. Meanwhile Mr Farage has called for peaceful protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers to put pressure on local authorities to take the same route as Epping Forest. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: 'Now the good people of Epping must inspire similar protests around Britain. 'Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex. 'Let's hold peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels, and put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out; we now know that together we can win.' Our work with international partners is vital to stopping small boat crossings to the UK. A joint intelligence unit involving the @NCA_UK and French counterparts has helped dismantle at least 52 organised immigration crime gangs operating in France. — Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 17, 2025 The latest Home Office data showed there were 32,345 asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels at the end of March. This was down 15% from the end of December, when the total was 38,079, and 6% lower than the 34,530 at the same point a year earlier. New figures – published among the usual quarterly immigration data release – are expected on Thursday, showing numbers in hotels at the end of June. Figures for hotels published by the Home Office date back to December 2022 and showed numbers hit a peak at the end of September 2023 when there were 56,042 asylum seekers in hotels.
