DUP MLA Trevor Clarke says councillors in other areas “have directed that similar enforcement investigations should be commenced”
A Northern Ireland council has begun an ‘enforcement investigation’ into whether or not a local hotel can house asylum seekers.
The move comes after a High Court judge ruled on Tuesday that the former Bell Hotel in Epping in England must stop housing asylum seekers by September 12. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated there.
The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could “interfere” with the department’s legal obligations, and lawyers representing the hotel’s owner argued it would set a “precedent”.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council confirmed on Wednesday that an “enforcement investigation has commenced, and the Council has no further comment to make at this time”. A statement from DUP South Antrim MLA Trevor Clarke says that the hotel at the centre of the investigation is the Chimney Corner outside Glengormley.
He welcomed “confirmation that a planning enforcement investigation is to be opened into the status of the Chimney Corner Hotel which has been used to house asylum seekers”.
The hotel has been the scene of anti-immigration protests in recent weeks. The DUP statement said Mr Clarke had written to the Head of Planning Enforcement at Antrim & Newtownabbey Council “querying whether any change of use had been sought for the Chimney Corner Hotel”.
Mr Clarke said: “The High Court decision makes it clear that housing asylum seekers in hotels without first securing a ‘change of use’ through the proper planning process (from hotel to hostel or immigration centre accommodation) constitutes a breach of planning regulations.
“No one is above the law, not even government departments. If the Home Office or its contractors wish to place large numbers of illegal immigrants into our communities, they must follow the same planning rules as everyone else.
“There are some other hotels being used for this purpose across Northern Ireland and I am not aware of any having secured a change of use. DUP Councillors in those areas have directed that similar enforcement investigations should be commenced.
“This issue isn’t just about the specifics of the need for proper planning approval. It highlights the lack of proper oversight and control in terms of the entire UK immigration system. The fact these hotels do not have the proper planning approval to house asylum seekers is merely a symptom of the overall problem.”
In a separate statement the TUV said that Jim Allister “has written to councils with ‘migrant hotels’”.
The North Antrim MP’s letter states: “In light of this week’s High Court ruling in respect of the Bell Hotel in Epping, can you advise if there are any properties in your district whose planning permission is for hotel use, but which are being used to house migrants?
“If so, will the council, in light of the finding in the Epping case that such use is not compatible with planning permission for hotel use, be taking action to ensure such non-compliant use is terminated? I look forward to your early response.”
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