PFCC Essex welcomes High Court decision to temporarily block asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, welcomed the High Court decision to temporarily block asylum seekers from being housed at the Bell Hotel in Epping, crediting Chris Whitbread, Leader of Epping Forest District Council and Holly Whitbread, Cabinet Member for Finance & Economic Development, Epping Forest District Council, for bringing this injunction before the court.
Roger Hirst said, “I wrote to the Home Office on Tuesday 22nd July asking for action on the protests in Epping, specifically requesting a meeting to review the use of hotels in the Epping Forest district of Essex, and elsewhere in the county, to accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers.
“A second letter, jointly signed by myself, Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, Alex Burghart, MP for Brentwood and Ongar, Cllr Chris Whitbread, Leader, Epping Forest District Council and Cllr Kevin Bentley, Leader, Essex County Council, was sent to the Home Office on Wednesday 30th July restating our collective concern about the use of the Bell Hotel for asylum seeker accommodation.
“These letters stated that the sites in Epping Forest district were entirely unsuitable to house asylum seekers and were placing an unsustainable strain on police resources, creating significant community tension, and leading to public disorder that was unacceptable to our residents and deeply concerning for the safety of all involved.
“Support for the Home Office’s wider objective of reducing reliance on hotels was expressed in the letters and all signatories urged the Home Office to accelerate this process and make the Bell Hotel in Epping a priority for urgent closure."