A COUNCIL has sensationally won a bid to temporary block asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel following spate of fierce protests.
The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex , has been at the centre of anti-immigration demonstrations after one of its guests was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
A second asylum seeker has since also been charged with sexual assault.
Epping Forest District Council launched a bid at the High Court last week to block migrants from being housed at the hotel.
A top judge today granted a temporary injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at the hotel.
The decision comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper made a last-ditch bid to intervene in the battle.
Edward Brown KC argued the block would have a “substantial impact” on the Home Secretary’s statutory duty to house asylum seekers.
He also said there is a “powerful public interest” in her being able to intervene to make arguments in the case – but the court heard an application was not made until last night.
It claimed Somani Hotels breached planning rules as the site is not being used for its intended purpose as a hotel.
Lawyers for the council also claimed the situation “could not be much worse”.
Philip Coppel KC said: “There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of The Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.
“It is a problem that is causing great local anxiety.”
The council sought to block Somani from housing asylum seekers within 14 days.
But barristers for the company said the “draconian” move would cause “hardship” for those inside the hotel.
They also argued “political views” were not grounds for an injunction and that contracts to house asylum seekers were a “financial lifeline”.
Lawyers said the hotel was only one per cent full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers.
Protests erupted outside the taxpayer-funded “surge” accommodation for illegal arrivals last month.
Up to 2,000 far-Right activists marched on the building in just one demonstration.
The unrest saw yobs launching themselves on riot vans, smashing windshields and ripping off wingmirrors in senseless displays of “hooliganism”.
Officers from at least six forces outside of the county were forced to swoop to try and keep the peace.
Missiles were thrown and a number of police vehicles were damaged as the demonstrators clashed with cops.
One man was run over while attempting to stop a police van gaining access to the hotel, while another had his teeth knocked out after riot cops smashed a shield into his face.
It came after a Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.
Hadush Kebatu, 41, from Ethiopia, has denied the offences and remains in custody.
Since tensions reached boiling point, violent demonstrations have cost the force around £100,000.
A total of 28 people have been arrested in relation to disorder at the hotel, and 16 of them have been charged.
