Epping Forest District Council has exhausted its legal options in a bid to remove asylum seekers housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, after judges at the Court of Appeal refused permission to challenge an earlier High Court ruling.
The council had sought an injunction on planning grounds, arguing the hotel's use as asylum seeker accommodation required planning permission. However, the High Court rejected that application, and the council subsequently attempted to appeal that decision.
Judges at the Court of Appeal found there was no arguable basis on which the earlier judgment could be challenged, effectively drawing a line under the council's pursuit of the matter through the courts.
The Bell Hotel has been used to house asylum seekers as part of the Government's wider use of hotel accommodation while applications are processed. The council's legal challenge is now formally at an end.
Cllr Chris Whitbread, leader of Epping Forest District Council, said the council was ‘angry and hugely disappointed’ by the outcome.
‘We may not have been successful, but this is evidence that we have changed the debate around the Government’s use of hotels for housing asylum seekers. The number of hotels in use has reduced approximately by half and without Epping having taken this action it is doubtful that this would be the case,’ he added.
