A hotel at the centre of heated protests in Essex has been ordered to stop housing asylum seekers after a judge granted a temporary High Court injunction.
Hotel told to clear asylum seekers after violent unrest
The Bell Hotel in Epping, run by Somani Hotels Ltd, has been at the centre of a storm in recent weeks following the charging of two residents with serious offences. The most high-profile case involved 38-year-old Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, who is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Another resident, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has also been charged in a separate case involving multiple offences.
The unrest surrounding the hotel sparked a surge in protests, with demonstrators clashing outside the premises on several occasions. Police were called repeatedly as community tensions boiled over into confrontations with counter-protesters. Violence even spilled over into attacks on hotel staff, with two security workers reportedly mistaken for migrants and assaulted in a racially motivated attack. One of the victims was filmed bleeding from the face as he was taunted and abused outside the building.
Judge rules against hotel’s use as migrant accommodation
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre ruled that the Bell Hotel must stop housing asylum seekers by September 12. The temporary injunction came after Epping Forest District Council argued that the site’s use breached planning rules and was fuelling public disorder.
At a previous hearing, the council’s barrister Philip Coppel KC told the court the hotel’s “sole lawful use” was as a commercial lodging business, not for long-term accommodation of migrants. He added that tensions in the community had escalated sharply since the property began hosting asylum seekers under government contracts.
“It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully,” Mr Coppel said. “It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used in breach of planning control.”
Owner says hotel would go under without government deal
Lawyers for Somani Hotels pushed back, arguing the government-backed contracts were a vital financial lifeline. In court, Piers Riley-Smith said the hotel had just 1% occupancy in August 2022, describing the asylum contracts as essential to its survival. He said the hotel’s disagreement with local council policy “doesn’t justify a draconian injunction.”
Despite the ruling, the judge gave the hotel a 14-day window to end its role in the asylum scheme, effectively giving them until mid-September to comply.
Growing unease over migrant accommodation sites
The case adds to a wider national conversation over where and how asylum seekers are housed in the UK. Similar scenes have played out at other hotels across the country, with community protests, violent incidents, and legal battles between councils and property owners.
Authorities continue to monitor tensions in Epping, where the fallout from the Bell Hotel case has left residents divided. For now, the focus turns to ensuring the asylum seekers currently inside the hotel are relocated safely before the September deadline.
