The owner of an Essex hotel blocked from housing asylum seekers has been granted permission to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, setting the stage for a high-profile legal battle between the Home Office, local councils, and hotel operators.
Last week, a High Court judge granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction, ordering that asylum seekers at the site must be moved out by 12 September.
Appeal Hearing This Week
Somani Hotels Limited, which owns the property, will present submissions at the Court of Appeal in London on Thursday.
The Home Office is also expected to appeal against the injunction at the same hearing, after Mr Justice Eyre refused to allow ministers to formally intervene in the case.
Planning Dispute at Heart of Case
Epping Forest District Council argued that Somani Hotels had failed to notify or consult the authority before housing migrants, in breach of planning rules.
Council lawyer Philip Coppel KC said the company had acted unlawfully by converting the hotel into asylum accommodation without approval.
Lawyers for Somani Hotels disputed the claim, insisting the injunction would cause “hardship” for asylum seekers and arguing that “political views” were not valid grounds for restricting use of the premises.
Government Position
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said on Friday that the government remained committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers:
“We have made a commitment that we will close all of the asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament. But we need to do that in a managed and ordered way.”
Since the injunction was granted, councils across the UK — controlled by Labour, Conservatives and Reform UK — have begun exploring whether similar legal challenges could be launched in their own districts.
Protests and Criminal Case
The Bell Hotel site has also become a flashpoint for local protests, which intensified after the arrest of asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu, 41.
Kebatu was charged with sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and harassment without violence. He denies all the allegations.
His trial, which opened at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, is concluding today at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.
Read more from Colchester.
