Epping Forest District Council has confirmed it will press ahead with an appeal after the High Court rejected its case to shut down the Bell Hotel, which has been used to house asylum seekers. Conservative council leader Chris Whitbread said a “strong majority” of councillors backed the decision during a private meeting on Tuesday night, where members received detailed legal advice. He told the BBC the council was committed to “continue the process of appeal” despite the setback.
Earlier this month, Mr Justice Mould dismissed the council’s claim, ruling that an injunction was “not an appropriate means of enforcing planning control”. The decision was welcomed by the Home Office, which said the ruling supported its broader programme to close all asylum hotels in a “planned, orderly and sustained” manner as part of efforts to reduce hotel dependency across the UK.
Legal Costs Under Scrutiny as Council Faces Budget Pressures
The council’s attempt to shut the hotel has already drawn criticism due to rising legal costs. The extraordinary council meeting was held behind closed doors to allow for confidential legal advice, but Whitbread said the total cost of litigation would be published “very soon”. He confirmed that council tax will rise next year but insisted the increase was not linked to the Bell Hotel case, adding that any legal expenses would be covered “from our reserves”.
Liberal Democrat group leader Jon Whitehouse criticised the Conservative administration, arguing the legal challenge “has so far achieved precisely nothing except to drain the council’s reserves”.
A Community Divided After Months of Protests
Epping became a focal point of national attention this summer after tensions escalated around the use of the Bell Hotel for asylum accommodation. Protests began after asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu, 41, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman and teenage girl in the town centre. Kebatu was convicted and jailed, but was incorrectly released from Chelmsford Prison before being rearrested and subsequently deported to Ethiopia.
The incident fuelled weekly protests and counter-protests in Epping, splitting the community between those opposing the hotel’s use for asylum accommodation and those weary of ongoing demonstrations and heavy police presence.
Council Previously Lost Emergency Injunction
The council initially secured an emergency interim injunction over the summer to close the Bell Hotel to asylum seekers. However, the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling, and the latest High Court decision further weakens the council’s legal position. The authority is now preparing for another appeal as national debate continues over the use of hotels to house migrants—a policy the UK government says it is working to end.
The UK has been phasing out asylum hotels as part of its plan to reduce costs and restore local housing capacity. Several councils across England have raised concerns about planning violations, local pressures, and safety fears linked to large-scale migrant accommodation in commercial hotels. The Home Office has pledged to close all asylum hotels by early 2025, replacing them with a smaller network of designated sites and accommodation centres.
