High Court grants injunction blocking asylum housing at Bell Hotel

A High Court injunction has been granted to prevent The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, from housing asylum seekers, after weeks of protests and escalating concerns about community safety near the site. The ruling, delivered by Mr Justice Eyre, comes despite a late bid by the Home Secretary to intervene in the case. The council argued that the hotel’s continued use for asylum accommodation breached planning controls and risked public order, while the hotel’s owners contended that blocking occupancy would cause unnecessary hardship and set a dangerous precedent.

The council, Epping Forest District Council, sought the injunction on the grounds that allowing the site to operate as a housing site for asylum seekers amounted to a breach of planning permission and created an unacceptable risk to nearby residents, especially schoolchildren who attend five schools within proximity. The application asked that the order take effect within 14 days if granted. Court submissions highlighted the scale of local unrest, with protests stages outside the hotel since July and episodes of violence, vandalism and confrontations with police. There have been thousands of demonstrators at times, with...