3C3XRX9 Altrincham, UK. 27 JUL, 2025. Police try to keep both Pro and Anti Migrant protestors seperate as both sides gathered outside the Cresta Court Hotel, which is believed to be housing migrants, as the wave of anti migrant protest against hotels continues across the UK. A counter pro-migrant protest assembled outside the front of the hotel to oppose the gathering. Credit Milo Chandler/Alamy Live News
In the wake of a High Court injunction halting asylum accommodation at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Conservative councillors in Cheshire have written to their local authority urging it to explore a similar legal challenge against a hotel housing asylum seekers. The bid highlights growing tensions over the government’s use of hotels to accommodate tens of thousands of asylum seekers while their claims are processed.
The Epping Forest ruling and its fallout
This week, Epping Forest District Council secured an injunction ordering the removal of asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel, owned by Somani Hotels Limited. The High Court found that the hotel had breached local planning regulations by changing its use without permission. Protests outside the Epping hotel, sparked by the arrest of an asylum seeker on sexual assault charges, had put intense local pressure on the council.
Judge Simon Pelling’s decision means that migrants must vacate the Bell Hotel by 12 September. The ruling has raised concerns at the Home Office about the stability of its national hotel estate: roughly 32,000 asylum seekers are currently dispersed across 210 hotels in England and Wales.
Cheshire Tories demand action
Against this backdrop, Conservative councillors in Altrincham and elsewhere in Cheshire have sent a joint letter to Trafford Council, demanding a “reassessment” of the Cresta Court hotel’s planning status. Up to 300 asylum seekers have been housed at Cresta Court since October 2024, generating protests and counter-protests.
Nathan Evans, a Conservative councillor in Cheshire, told PoliticsHome:
Local Tories argue that continuing to house asylum seekers at Cresta Court without planning approval could be challenged under the same “material change of use” principle that succeeded at Epping.
Legal precedent and potential domino effect
The Epping judgment has set a legal precedent that councils can deploy to halt hotel-based asylum accommodation when planning rules are breached. If other local authorities pursue similar injunctions, the Home Office could face major logistical and financial headaches relocating thousands of asylum seekers at short notice.
Trafford Council, currently Labour-controlled, has yet to decide on a response. A spokesperson said:
The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded cautiously, convening meetings with the Home Office, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to “understand how best to support our councils following the decision.”
LGA calls for closer Home Office collaboration
Louise Gittins, Chair of the LGA, commented:
Her remarks underscore the tension between local authorities’ duty to residents and the government’s responsibility to house asylum seekers humanely.
Community impact and political risks
For local residents, the presence of asylum seekers in centrally located hotels has raised concerns about public services, local infrastructure and perceived safety, amplified by media coverage of the Epping protests. Tory councillors depict their campaign as a defence of community well-being, but opponents warn the debate risks stoking division and xenophobia.
From Whitehall’s perspective, rapid challenges to hotel usage threaten the government’s contingency planning for asylum accommodation, which relies heavily on hotel capacity to manage arrivals. Any large-scale legal challenge could force emergency relocations, inflating costs and disrupting the asylum process.
What happens next?
Trafford Council now has a choice: follow Epping’s lead and seek a judicial review, or maintain the status quo and rely on Home Office assurances. Meanwhile, Cheshire Tories vow to press the issue “in light of recent case law”, arguing residents deserve the same protections as those in Epping.
As the asylum hotel network faces fresh legal scrutiny, the government and local authorities alike must navigate a complex web of planning laws, community relations and humanitarian obligations. The outcome will shape not only the future of Cresta Court and similar sites, but also the broader strategies for housing asylum seekers across the UK.
