Council threatens legal action over Skegness asylum hotels

Councillors claim tourism in Skegness is being harmed by the use of hotels as hostels for asylum seekers

A local authority has threatened to take legal action in a bid to stop the government from using more hotels in Skegness as hostels for asylum seekers.

More than 200 people are currently being put up at five sites in the town.

East Lindsey District Council has sent a pre-action letter warning it will seek a judicial review if the Home Office try to use other hotels, saying it had caused "substantial harm".

The government said the asylum system faced "unprecedented pressures".

The Conservative-run council alleged the Home Office had "persistently, repeatedly and unlawfully encouraged and procured breaches of planning control" by instructing contractor Serco to purchase hotel accommodation for asylum seekers in the town.

It claimed by doing so the government is "encouraging a material change of use which requires planning permission, which has not been applied for or obtained".

A spokesperson for the authority said it had sought assurances from Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, they would not seek to procure further rooms in the town or wider area, but both had "failed to give those assurances".

The council claimed that the use of the five hotels had depleted the resort's stock of accommodation and caused "harm" to its reputation as a family resort.

Council leader Craig Leyland said: "We understand the national pressures faced by the Home Office in finding suitable accommodation for those seeking asylum in the UK but we call for a halt to the procurement of any more hotels in Skegness and wider East Lindsey.

"This pre-action letter indicates the Council's intentions to seek a Judicial Review if the Home Office will not agree to stop purchasing more hotels for hostel use unless it is authorised by the grant of planning permission."

MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman hosted a public meeting in Skegness in November to discuss the issue

MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman said he believed the use of hotels to house asylum seekers was "unacceptable and wholly inappropriate", adding that he would give his "full support" to the council's legal challenge.

In a statement, the Home Office said hotels were a short-term solution for the "record levels" of asylum seekers entering the UK.

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

"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."

In November, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Ipswich Borough Council both lost legal fights against the use of hotels in their areas. However, last month, a High Court judge ruled seafront hotels in Great Yarmouth cannot be used to house asylum seekers.