Council launches judicial review over accommodation of asylum seekers in local hotels, cites tourism concerns

East Lindsey District Council has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Home Office threatening a judicial review over its decision to place asylum seekers in hotels in the seaside town of Skegness.

In a statement announcing the legal action, the local authority claimed that placing asylum seekers in hotels amounts to a material change of use requiring planning permission and that the harm the programme causes to the town's tourism economy directly conflicts with policies in the area's local plan.

The letter claims the Home Office has "persistently, repeatedly and unlawfully" encouraged and procured breaches of planning control by instructing its contractor, SERCO Group Plc, to purchase hotel accommodation in Skegness for those seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.

It adds that the "unauthorised changes of use [of the hotels] have caused substantial harm" by depleting Skegness's stock of hotel accommodation for tourists and by harming its reputation as a family resort.

The council claimed that the harm caused by the Home Office's policy "directly conflicts" with policy SP19 of the council's Local Plan for Coastal East Lindsey, which states that it is important to protect hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation as they support the tourism industry.

The policy also states that "the onus will lie with any developer who proposes to remove this type of development from a defined area along the coast, to have to show why there is firstly, no longer a need for that hotel or bed and breakfast business and it should be shown that it is no longer viable in the longer term and that it cannot be sold as an on-going concern".

In addition, the local authority claims that the Home Office failed to consult with the council and its partners and consequently has placed a "substantial and potentially unsustainable" burden on providers of primary healthcare in Skegness "as well as beginning to undermine social cohesion".

East Lindsey's legal action follows a decision in the High Court last month which granted Great Yarmouth Borough Council an extension of its interim injunction blocking asylum seekers from being placed in hotels in and around its seafront.

Great Yarmouth also argued that the use of the hotels constituted a change of use and that it clashed with its local plan, which pledges to encourage tourism in the area.

The judge's decision to grant Great Yarmouth an extension followed a series of unsuccessful efforts by other councils, with Fenland District Council, Ipswich Borough Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council failing to secure extensions to their own interim injunctions.

A judicial review was also threatened by Torbay Council in November of last year over concerns that using hotels for asylum seekers in the town would damage the tourism economy and have a significant impact on Children's Services.

Commenting on the legal action, Cllr Craig Leyland, the leader of East Lindsey District Council, said: "Skegness is the fourth most visited coastal resort in the UK. It depends on maintaining a thriving tourism economy driven by holidaymakers and people who choose to holiday in the town and on day trippers. 

"The unlawful use of hotels as hostels, which goes against planning policy, is depleting the supply of accommodation on offer for tourists and this use is not helping our reputation as a family holiday resort which is a vital part of the local economy."

Cllr Leyland added: "We understand the national pressures faced by the Home Office in finding suitable accommodation for those seeking asylum in the UK but we call for a halt to the procurement of any more hotels in Skegness and wider East Lindsey.

"This pre-action letter indicates the council's intentions to seek a judicial review if the Home Office will not agree to stop purchasing more hotels for hostel use unless it is authorised by the grant of planning permission."

Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness, said: "I have repeatedly urged the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Immigration Minister to end the use of tourist hotels in Skegness to accommodate people seeking asylum. As I said recently at a public meeting in Skegness, it is unacceptable and wholly inappropriate."

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The number of people arriving in the UK who seek asylum and require accommodation has reached record levels, placing unprecedented pressures on the asylum system. 

“The Home Office and partners identify sites for accommodation based on whether they are safe and available."

It added: “While we accept that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation, and we are working hard with local authorities to find appropriate accommodation during this challenging time.”

Adam Carey