AN ENGLISH council has won a bid to temporarily stop asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel which has been targeted by protests.
Epping Forest District Council sought an injunction from the Royal Court of Justice last week to block refugees from being allowed to stay at the former hotel.
And now, the courts have ruled in favour of the local authority.
It means that the local authority can remove asylum seekers from the hotel as a result.
The Bell Hotel in Epping was the site of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was housed at the hotel was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
It comes after the Home Office made a last-minute bid to intervene in the case, but High Court judge Justice Eyre blocked the request, stating that it was "not necessary".
On Tuesday, Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction, but extended the time limit by which the hotel must stop housing asylum seekers to September 12.
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.
(Image: PA) 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.”
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.
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.”
Justice Eyre has refused to give Somani Hotels Limited the green light to challenge his ruling.
Riley-Smith asked the judge to be allowed to appeal against the ruling, citing its “wide-reaching ramifications”.
He said that there was a “compelling reason for the appeal to be heard”, including the “precedent that would be set” by the ruling and the impact that it could have “on the wider strategy of the (Home Secretary) in relation to the housing of asylum seekers in hotels as part of meeting their statutory duties”.
Justice Eyre said that he was “not persuaded there is such a compelling reason”.
Somani Hotels could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to challenge the ruling.
In response to the ruling, Enver Solomon, chief executive of Refugee Council, said that hotels were not the answer as they are costly, trap people in "limbo" and are "flashpoints" in communities.
“Instead of using costly hotels, the Government should partner with local councils to provide safe, cost-effective accommodation within communities," he said.
“But ultimately, the only way to end hotel use for good is to resolve asylum applications quickly and accurately so people can either rebuild their lives here or return home with dignity.
“This will cut costs and allow refugees to integrate into their new communities, contribute, and play their part in Britain.”
Chris Whitbread, the leader of Epping Forest District Council, said he was "delighted" with the ruling and that the authority would now seek a "permanent injunction".
“Home Office policy ignores the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents," he said.
“Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance and showing that local people do have some say, whatever the Home Office thinks.”