Council urged to review asylum hotel use

Outside the Witney Four Pillars Hotel on a cloudy day. A couple of people are seen on bicycles in front of the building. Another man is standing at the entrance.Image source, Google Maps
Image caption,

The council is being asked to "reassess" whether the hotel use constitutes a change of use under planning law

  • Published

A Conservative group has written to a Lib Dem-led district council, urging for review of its position about the use of a hotel for asylum accommodation.

West Oxfordshire Conservatives is asking West Oxfordshire District Council chief executive Giles Hughes to clarify the planning status of the Witney Four Pillars Hotel.

It follows a High Court injunction granted to Epping Forest District Council to stop migrants being placed at The Bell Hotel in Epping.

The BBC has contacted West Oxfordshire District Council for a comment.

The group writes it is a matter of record "that the hotel has not applied for, nor been granted, planning permission for a change of use".

It says in the case of Epping Forest District Council v Secretary of State for the Home Department, the High Court rules "that the use of a hotel for asylum seeker accommodation did amount to a material change of use requiring planning permission".

"This provides a clear legal precedent that must now be considered by other local authorities, including West Oxfordshire," it says.

The group "specifically" asks the local authority to "reassess whether the Witney Four Pillars Hotel current use constitutes a material change of use under planning law" and "consider seeking injunctive relief from the High Court to prevent the ongoing use of the hotel without planning permission, as other councils have successfully done".

It writes that failure to act now would risk the council "being seen as disregarding both legal precedent and the will of local residents".

Deputy group leader Liam Walker said judging by the daily figures of how many people were crossing the Channel, "this issue is only getting worse".

New figures show there were 32,059 asylum seekers in UK hotels at the end of June, up 8% on the same point 12 months ago.

Get in touch

Do you have a story BBC Oxfordshire should cover?