Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Britain's High Court handed down a landmark ruling temporarily blocking a London-area hotel from being used to house asylum seekers after a campaign by local people opposed to the presence of 140 young, single men in their community.
The interim injunction stopping the government from placing migrants in the Bell Hotel in Epping Forest, 15 miles northeast of central London, was granted to the local council Tuesday on grounds that the change in the use of the premises contravened planning law and concerns over disruption and the safety of the occupants due to the protests.
Justice Eyre, denied a late legal challenge by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, giving Somani Hotels, which operates the Bell, until Sept. 12 to comply with the injunction.
The hotel's 80 rooms are occupied by around 140 men.
Related
