LONDON — The U.K. government’s ability to house asylum seekers in hotels has been thrown into doubt after a successful injunction against the use of an Essex site.
Epping Forest District Council on Tuesday secured a temporary High Court injuction to block the Home Office using The Bell Hotel in Essex to house migrants.
The ruling comes following weeks of protests near the hotel, after an asylum seeker staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Epping Forest applied for the urgent injunction, arguing there was a clear risk of further escalating community tensions without action.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s department had challenged the application for an injunction, warning it would “substantially impact” the government’s ability to house asylum seekers in hotels — but the judge ruled migrants must be gone by 4 p.m. on September 12.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the ruling “a victory for the parents and concerned residents of Epping,” and said it should provide “inspiration to others across the country.”
Epping has seen a wave of protests near the hotel, which is used to accommodate single male asylum seekers. While they have been largely peaceful, riot police were called to the area in July and sixteen people have been charged with offenses relating to the protests.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who visited Epping earlier this month, said the ruling was “good news and a victory for the mums and dads” she had spoken to “who just want their children to be safe.” She warned Epping was “just one of many towns struggling with these asylum hotels.”
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