Protests have broken outside The Bell Hotel (Image: PA)
The Home Office's asylum accommodation plans have been thrown into disarray after a council won a legal battle to close a migrant hotel.
Epping Forest District Council has been granted a temporary High Court injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
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This means dozens of migrants will now be evicted within 24 days.
The judgment could also open the floodgates for similar applications around the country to clear asylum seekers out of hotels.
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Lawyers for the Home Office warned an injunction could lead to “similar applications made elsewhere that would then aggravate pressures on the asylum estate”.
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Injunction applications could become the “new norm adopted by local authorities”, lawyers for the Home Office argued.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said:"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 majority of decent people in this country.
"Young, undocumented males who break into the UK illegally should NOT be free to walk the streets anywhere. They must be detained and deported.
"I hope that Epping provides inspiration to others across the country."
Kemi Badenoch has described Tuesday's injunction as "a victory for the mums and dads I spoke to in Epping who just want their children to be safe".
In a message posted on X, the Conservative leader said: "Putting a hotel full of young male illegal immigrants in the middle of a community like Epping was always going to lead to issues. They need to be moved out of the area immediately.
"But Epping is just one of many towns struggling with these asylum hotels.
"Labour have no solution, they're not smashing any gangs and small boat arrivals are at record highs.
"I do have a plan - bring back a proper deterrent and remove all illegal arrivals immediately, so towns like Epping never have to deal with this again."
Chris Whitbread, the leader of Epping Forest District Council, 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.
"Thank you to Mr Justice Eyre. For the first time in weeks we can see a chink of light at the end of the tunnel.
"I also want to say a massive thank you to our planning and legal teams who have worked day and night in preparation for our day in court. They have done our council proud.
"This is not the end of the matter. Having obtained an interim provision the next stage is for the council to return to the court and seek a permanent injunction.
"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."
The judge had earlier blocked the Home Office from intervening in the council's bid for a temporary injunction.
Barristers for the department told a hearing on Tuesday that it should be allowed to be involved in the case as the injunction bid "is not simply a narrow planning concern" and has "significant impacts more widely" on its ability to house asylum seekers in hotels.
They also warned that a temporary injunction could create "an impetus for further violent protests".
In written submissions for a hearing on Tuesday, Edward Brown KC said the Bell Hotel is "an appropriate site for accommodating asylum seekers notwithstanding the recent events".
He also said the injunction would "substantially interfere" with the Home Office's statutory duty in potentially avoiding a breach of the asylum seekers' human rights.
The barrister added: "The balance of convenience can never favour a course of conduct that creates a real risk of interfering with fundamental human rights."
The hotel's owner, Somani Hotels Limited, which opposes the injunction bid, said the Home Office should be allowed to intervene, while the council resisted the move.
Mr Justice Eyre said: "It is my assessment that the joinder of the (Home Secretary) is not necessary so the court can determine all matters in dispute in proceedings.
"Nor is there an issue which it is desirable to have the (Home Secretary) so the court can resolve it."
He continued: "The consequences of the (Home Secretary) joining would be the loss of yet further court time. The impact of that is significant."
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."
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Two asylum seekers living at the hotel have been charged with sexual assault.
Mohammed Sharwarq, 32 is accused of kissing a man on the neck on July 25.
The protests, which have sparked demonstration at other hotels across the country, started after an Ethiopian asylum seeker living at The Bell was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl by trying to kiss her days after arriving in the UK in a small boat on June 29.
Hadush Kebatu has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence. He was remanded in custody by Chelmsford magistrates in July after he denied all the charges, and is due to stand trial at the same court on Aug 26 and 27.
Ministers have set aside ￡500m to invest in a “new, more sustainable accommodation model” as they scramble to close 210 migrant hotels.
Some 32,345 asylum seekers are living in hotels, while 66,683 are living in “dispersal accommodation” - houses, flats and bedsits - across the country.
Lord David Hanson, a Home Office minister, revealed ministers have set aside ￡500 million to move migrants out of hotels and into communities across the UK. They insist this will be “developed in consultation with local authorities”.
This “basic” accommodation, under the new cross-Government model, will be “used on a temporary basis” to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed.
Under one proposal, the Government could pay councils to buy or renovate properties.
Former student accommodation, abandoned care homes, empty tower blocks and converted houses and flats could also be used to house asylum seekers.
Labour wants to close every migrant hotel within four years – but the number being used has increased since the General Election.
A report by The Migration Observatory found 84% of local authorities now have asylum accommodation.
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By contrast, just one in hour hosted asylum seekers in 2014, highlighting the pressure many communities are now under.
Researchers claimed it costs taxpayers ￡170 a night for migrants to stay in hotel rooms, down from ￡176 in 2023/24.
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