Overview

• Mr Justice Eyre granted an interim injunction requiring Somani Hotels to cease asylum accommodation at the Bell Hotel by 12 September.
• The judge rejected the Home Office’s late bid to intervene, ruling its involvement was not necessary.
• Immediate permission to appeal was refused, though the owners can still seek leave from the Court of Appeal.
• The court said a breach of planning rules was not definitively proven but found the council’s case strong enough to justify interim relief, with a fuller hearing to follow.
• The ruling follows prolonged protests and counter-demonstrations in Epping and is already prompting talk of similar legal challenges elsewhere and warnings about pressure on asylum accommodation.