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Police officers stand outside The Bell Hotel during a protest (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Epping Forest District Council’s legal challenge over the use of the Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers is due to be heard at the High Court on October 15.
The council is taking legal action against Somani Hotels, which owns the Essex hotel, over its use to house asylum seekers.
Last month, the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary injunction granted by the High Court, which would have meant 138 asylum seekers could not be accommodated at the hotel after September 12.
However, EFDC could still be granted an injunction following the hearing in London, which is expected to last three days.
At the start of the month, the Home Office lost a bid to push back the full hearing by six weeks.
Anti-asylum hotel protesters outside the Bell Hotel in Epping (Image: Getty)
Lawyers for the Government had argued that there were “very powerful reasons” for a “period of reflection” following the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
The council opposed the bid, stating that the case should “proceed apace”.
In a ruling, Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the bid, stating that EFDC was “entitled to proceed with its claim”.
The council issued legal proceedings against Somani Hotels in August, claiming it had breached planning rules, after the Bell became the focal point of several protests and counter-protests in recent weeks.
The Bell Hotel in Epping (Image: Getty)
Mr Justice Eyre granted the council a temporary injunction on August 19 but Somani Hotels and the Home Office both challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, where they were successful in having it overturned.
The Court of Appeal also refused EFDC’s bid to take the case to the Supreme Court but the authority could still ask the UK’s highest court directly for the green light to challenge the decision.
