Overview
- Mr Justice Tim Mould dismissed Epping Forest District Council’s request for a permanent injunction, saying it was not just and convenient to grant such relief.
- He found the Bell Hotel’s current use requires planning permission but concluded an injunction was not warranted given limited planning harm and the continuing need for contingency hotel accommodation.
- The Home Office intervened to oppose the council, citing statutory obligations under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and warning that closures would strain already scarce capacity.
- An earlier interim order that would have stopped 138 residents staying beyond 12 September was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August as “seriously flawed in principle.”
- Following protests triggered by a resident’s conviction, the judge said there was no evidence asylum seekers are more prone to crime and stressed that public order should be managed by police, as political reactions ranged from Conservative criticism to government vows to end hotel use by 2029.