City council withdraws High Court injunction over migrant hotel

Council leader Wayne Fitzgerald said the authority "didn't want to spend any more taxpayers' money than was necessary"

A council has withdrawn an application for a High Court injunction to stop migrants being housed in a city centre hotel by the Home Office.

Peterborough City Council said it "didn't want to spend any more taxpayers' money than was necessary".

It said the injunction may not have been successful - and it will now use planning rules to oppose the move.

The Home Office said while "hotels do not provide a long-term solution", it was working to find other housing.

The authority's chief executive Matt Gladstone said he was told migrants could arrive soon and the council said its resources to "help genuine asylum seekers are stretched to the absolute limit".

It filed an application for an injunction with the High Court on 11 November, when it also took enforcement action to prevent the change of use [of the hotel] to allow its use for further migrants.

Planning regime

The city council's Conservative leader Wayne Fitzgerald said it had withdrawn the application because it "didn't want to spend any more taxpayers' money than was necessary if there was no realistic prospect of winning".

"What we have done though is stepped up the enforcement in terms of the planning regime because the hotels in question would currently be in breach of the planning conditions as hotels if they operate as hostels," he said.

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In a statement, the Home Office said: "The number of people arriving in the UK who seek asylum and require accommodation has reached record levels, placing unprecedented pressures on the asylum system.

"The Home Office and partners identify sites for accommodation based on whether they are safe and available.

"While we accept that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation, and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation during this challenging time."