Broxbourne Council to go down 'same route as Epping' following High Court ruling on asylum seekers
Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to remove asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel.
Broxbourne council in Hertfordshire who are trying to stop a hotel housing asylum seekers has said it will "go down the same path as Epping" after Tuesday's (19 August) High Court ruling.
Corina Gander, Conservative leader of Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire, said a hotel in the town of Cheshunt puts "an enormous strain on local services".
"We are going to be looking at the ruling of Epping yesterday and we will be expecting to go down the same path as Epping," the Conservative councillor told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Ms Gander said her council previously tried to get legal advice to block the hotel, but had not been successful.
"What Epping have done is they have really set a precedent for local councils," she added.
The ruling is expected to lead to more local authorities across England making legal challenges.
Security minister Dan Jarvis has said the Government is looking at contingency options for where to house asylum seekers after the High Court's decision.
He told Times Radio: "We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do."
Asked whether other hotels housing asylum seekers have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: "Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks.
"Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have.
"I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers.
"That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them."