Judges rule against Epping block
The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling that stopped asylum seekers being housed in an Essex hotel – sparking fury in the local community.
The Bell Hotel in Epping can once again take in dozens of migrants after top judges said the High Court got it wrong when it blocked the scheme last week.
Council chiefs had argued the building needed planning permission before being used to house asylum seekers. But the appeal court said ministers faced “considerable difficulties” moving the group elsewhere and slammed the earlier ruling for encouraging protests.
Local anger reignites
The row over the Bell exploded earlier this summer after a teenage girl was allegedly assaulted by a hotel resident. The incident fuelled anti-immigration protests outside the site, forcing cops to step in.
Epping Forest District Council, run by the Tories, brought the case against hotel owner Somani Hotels.
After the ruling, councillor Ken Williamson fumed: “The battle is not over. Ministers must take responsibility for the trauma and disruption in our community.”
Locals fear the judgment could see more hotels across England used to house asylum seekers, sparking further unrest.
Political dogfight
The decision triggered a bitter spat in Westminster. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said it proved PM Sir Keir Starmer “puts the rights of illegal immigrants above the rights of British people”.
She urged other Conservative-led councils to launch similar legal fights.
But asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle hit back, saying the ruling gave the government “time to exit hotels in a controlled and orderly way”.
She added: “It will take some time to fix the broken system we inherited, but the British public deserve nothing less.”
Judges slam High Court
Three senior judges – Lord Justice David Bean, Lady Justice Nicola Davies and Lord Justice Stephen Cobb – ruled the High Court had made “a number of errors”.
They said considering local protests as part of the planning row was dangerous because it risked “encouraging further lawlessness”.
The court also said Justice Stephen Eyre failed to consider the “significant practical challenge of relocating large numbers of asylum seekers”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was even blocked from intervening in the original case, something the appeal court branded a mistake as she was “plainly directly affected”.
Fight not finished
Despite the government’s win, the row is far from over. The council’s main legal claim – that housing migrants at the Bell is a “material change of use” – will go to a full hearing later this year.
If successful, Epping Forest District Council could still ban the practice permanently.
Until then, the Bell Hotel will remain home to dozens of asylum seekers, while locals and politicians continue to clash over one of the most explosive immigration battles in recent years.
