'No plans' for councils to block asylum hotels

Recent protests outside a hotel in Epping, Essex, have sparked nationwide demonstrations

Councils across the West of England have confirmed they are not looking to block asylum seekers from being housed in hotels.

Questions had been raised after Epping Forest District Council in Essex won a temporary High Court injunction to remove asylum seekers from a hotel in the area.

The Home Office warned the decision would "substantially impact" its ability to house asylum seekers in hotels across the UK if other councils followed suit.

But the likelihood of similar action being taken in Bristol, Somerset, Gloucestershire or Wiltshire appears to be low.

Home Office statistics show 802 asylum seekers were living in hotels in Bristol in June – the seventh-highest figure in the country – but Bristol City Council said there were no plans to challenge the legality of housing them.

North Somerset Council also said it was "not currently considering" any such legal action.

The injunction in Epping was granted after a judge ruled the hotel in question, which houses around 140 men, did not secure the correct planning permission from the council for this use.

The hotel, The Bell, has been the focus of anti-migrant protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker living there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town.

The protests have spread to other hotels housing asylum seekers around the country, including to a hotel in Bristol earlier in August.

Those fighting for migrant rights have also attended demonstrations.

Around 140 men are being moved from The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex

Figures show there are no hotels housing asylum seekers in Bath and North East Somerset, or in South Gloucestershire Council's territory.

However, there is one such hotel in Cheltenham and another in Gloucester.

Cheltenham Borough Council said it had no plans for legal action but would "continue to monitor the situation closely".

Gloucester City Council refused to comment on its plans.

But the Community Independent Group, a minority council party, has put in a motion calling on the authority to explore whether planning regulations have been breached at the Gloucester hotel and if legal action could be taken.

The group's leader, Alastair Chambers, said the motion was not about his party "lacking compassion for those who seek refuge" but about concerns around the number of single men being housed.

Counter-protesters gather outside a hotel in Bristol in support of migrants in August

There are 184 asylum seekers housed in hotels in Somerset but Somerset Council said it was "not currently seeking to challenge the government" on this.

"We recognise the need to support displaced individuals, mainly families, who find themselves fleeing from violence in their home country," a spokesperson added.

And while there are no hotels housing asylum seekers under Wiltshire Council's care, there are 87 people housed in hotels under the responsibility of Swindon Borough Council.

The borough council confirmed it also had no plans to pursue legal action.