A High Court ruling on asylum seekers in an Essex hotel is being ‘carefully reviewed’ by Blackpool Council in regard to the resort’s Metropole Hotel, the authority says.
The Blackpool authority issued a statement after a judge allowed Epping Forest District council a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from staying at The Bell Hotel in Epping, the scene of violent protests.
This judgement is expected to have implications for other local authorities in areas where hotels are being used to house asylum seekers.
Blackpool Council has previously voiced its opposition to the Metropole being used to house the refugees.
However, the Labour-led authority was keen to stress that the situation at the Metropole was “different” from that at Epping.
The hotel in the resort is housing families, rather than single males, and the council’s objections have been over the building’s unsuitability in hosting vulnerable people fleeing persecution.
Nevertheless, the Metropole, which first started to house asylum seekers in September 2021, has continued to attract a number of protesters in the past year.
Although these have not been anywhere near the scale of the demonstrations outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, the protests which led to riots in the resort last August did begin close to the Metropole, which was shielded by a large police presence.
Those disturbances were part of a wave of riots sparked by the shocking murder of three young girls in Southport by killer Axel Rudakubana.
A Blackpool Council spokesperson said: “Since the start of the use of The Metropole for this purpose, we’ve been clear that it is not a suitable location for asylum seekers fleeing abuse and persecution. We believe this use should be brought to an end as soon as possible.
“The Metropole in Blackpool is different to the hotel in Epping in a number of ways. The hotel here is one of only a few that is home to families, rather than single males who might be sharing rooms.
“We are carefully reviewing the interim judgement issued yesterday regarding the site in Epping, and the potential impacts of the ruling, before deciding on our next steps.”
Mr Justice Eyre ruled in favour of Epping Forest District Council’s application for a temporary injunction against the continued use of The Bell Hotel to house asylum seekers.
The basis for this decision was the council’s argument that the hotel’s use for housing asylum seekers constituted a breach of planning law and created a public safety risk.
The council asserted that the alleged planning breach had led to “evidenced harms,” which included violent protests and arrests related to the situation at the hotel.
Disturbances erupted outside the Bell Hotel after an occupant was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.
The situation then became further strained as counter demonstrations in support of the asylum seekers congregated outside the Essex hotel.
The Government is now looking at suitable options to house the people from the Bell Hotel; meanwhile, the hotel owners are appealing against the court ruling.
