West Northamptonshire Council steps up legal action over asylum seeker hotels
Council investigates planning breaches at hotels for asylum seekers
West Northamptonshire Council has begun a legal inquiry into three local hotels accommodating asylum seekers, following previous concerns about planning breaches and pressure on local public services.
After issuing Planning Contravention Notices to the owners of the three hotels in September, the council has been actively progressing through the legal process for formal planning enforcement, while continuing to gather evidence to build a robust case against the Home Office.
The council has assembled a taskforce of senior officers to progress its work, claiming it is acting to protect the interests of local residents.
Council leader Mark Arnull, of the Reform UK-led authority, said: “This is an opportunity for us to bring together our skilled workforce across different departments, consolidate expertise and take a combined approach to tackling the issue, with advice from our legal counsel and internal legal team, to reach a resolution to the asylum situation in West Northamptonshire.”
The council says the taskforce marks a ''significant step'' in its case against the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers, which it argues continues to place an “unreasonable strain” on already ''overstretched'' public services.
Arnull added: “We’re working together to pull together all the required information to make sure our inquiries are substantial and the case is strong enough to stand up to a legal challenge in court.”
The Labour government has previously stated that using hotels is a temporary measure while it works through the large backlog of asylum applications.