HOME OFFICE IN COURT: GOVT SAYS MIGRANT HOTELS OVERRIDE LOCAL PLANNING IN EPPING INJUNCTION APPEAL

UK government lawyers told the Court of Appeal that the Home Office’s statutory duty to house asylum seekers is in the national interest and should outweigh local planning controls, as they seek to overturn an injunction closing the Bell Hotel in Epping to migrants. The council argues planning law grants no special dispensation and that local order concerns must stand. The case could set a nationwide precedent for asylum accommodation and has become politically sensitive amid public dissatisfaction and protests around migrant hotels.