High Court to Decide Whether Epping Hotel Can House Asylum Seekers

A High Court judge is set to deliver a ruling on whether the Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) can prevent asylum seekers from being accommodated in the Bell Hotel in Essex. Mr Justice Mould will announce his decision at 12:00 on Tuesday, November 11, following legal proceedings initiated by the council against Somani Hotels, the hotel’s owner.

The EFDC argues that housing asylum seekers in the Bell Hotel breaches planning regulations. In contrast, Somani Hotels contends that this arrangement does not represent a “material change of use.” During a recent hearing in London, barristers for Somani Hotels stated that the hotel’s use for asylum accommodation should remain permissible under existing planning laws. The Home Office has also intervened, asserting that the council’s legal challenge is “misconceived.”

Earlier this year, the High Court granted a temporary injunction that prevented the accommodation of 138 asylum seekers beyond September 12. However, this injunction was overturned in August by the Court of Appeal, which deemed the council’s decision “seriously flawed in principle.”

Philip Coppel KC, representing the EFDC, argued last month that the arrangement to house asylum seekers constitutes a significant change in the hotel’s use. He emphasized that this situation has led to frequent protests and heightened anxiety among local residents.

The Bell Hotel became a focal point for community unrest during the summer after an asylum seeker residing there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Epping in July. The accused, Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who arrived in the UK shortly before the incident, was sentenced to 12 months in prison in September. He was mistakenly released but was subsequently re-detained. Another resident, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, received a 16-week sentence for assaulting two fellow residents and staff members at the hotel.

The Bell Hotel has housed asylum seekers on multiple occasions since May 2020, including a period from October 2022 to April 2024, during which the EFDC did not take enforcement action. Barristers for Somani Hotels previously indicated that the company sought planning permission for a “temporary change of use” in February 2023 but withdrew the application due to delays in its approval.

During the October hearing, Jenny Wigley KC, representing Somani Hotels, argued that there has been “no breach” of planning regulations and criticized the council’s decision-making process as “seriously flawed.” She noted that the hotel had briefly resumed other operations in August 2022 but returned to offering asylum accommodation as its occupancy significantly declined.

As the case unfolds, the outcome will have significant implications for the future of asylum seeker accommodation in the Epping area and may set a precedent for similar cases across the country. The judgment from Mr Justice Mould is highly anticipated by both local residents and the legal community.