A Reform-led council has taken the first steps towards stopping the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by claiming they may be in breach of planning rules.
West Northamptonshire Council in the Midlands has issued Planning Contravention Notices to the owners of three hotels in the area, which are being used by the Home Office as temporary accommodation for migrants.
It follows the Epping Forest District Council case, which has seen a temporary injunction which would have required the removal of asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel being overturned by the Court of Appeal.
It follows an application from the hotel’s owners and the Home Office, after a previous ruling at the High Court decided that the 138 migrants residing there would need to be removed by 12 September.
In recent weeks, discontent with how the government has managed the small boats crisis and housed migrants in hotels has led to a wave of protests and clashes with counter-demonstrators across the UK.
Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council said: “By accommodating asylum seekers, we believe these hotels may have a case to answer for breaching planning control, and these notices are the first formal step in allowing us to investigate further.
“The recent Epping Court of Appeal hearing highlighted the importance of ensuring the full planning enforcement process is followed if councils are looking to take action against the use of hotels in their area as asylum accommodation and that’s what we’re doing in West Northants.
“With the Home Office’s use of these hotels in our area placing an unsustainable strain on our local services and with residents continuing to raise concerns, we will look at using whatever powers we have to address these issues.”
The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex became the focal point of several demonstrations and counter-protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl last month. He has denied the charges.
Protests have since spread to other hotel sites, including the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf and to locations in Falkirk, Bournemouth and Manchester.
Sir Keir Starmer said he “completely” gets peoples’ concerns about migration, and insisted he wanted to speed up efforts to empty asylum hotels before the next election.
The government has committed to empty all hotels currently housing migrants by the end of the Parliament, which could be as late as 2029, but the Prime Minister suggested he wanted to “bring that forward”.
The Conservatives have announced they plan to force a vote in Parliament on giving local authorities more say in decisions about accommodating asylum seekers in hotels or shared housing.
The amendments set to be tabled in the Lords to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill would ensure local communities are consulted before properties are converted to house asylum seekers as part of the planning process.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said by appealing in the Epping case, “Keir Starmer showed he prioritised the rights of illegal immigrants over the rights of the British people”.
She added: “With this amendment, Starmer and Labour are going to have to decide again whether they will continue to ride roughshod over communities as they push asylum hotels into Britain’s towns and cities.”
The Home Office has be contacted for comment.
