"Residents have experienced fear and uncertainty"
The Home Office has scrapped plans to buy flats in Epping to house asylum seekers, following sustained opposition from council leaders and residents.
Ministers had been considering purchasing eight flats in Buckhurst Hill, an affluent part of Epping, Essex. The proposal came months after the town became the focus of national protests.
Those demonstrations followed the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl by Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian migrant. The case intensified scrutiny of asylum accommodation in the area.
Epping Forest District Council said the plan showed a failure to understand local tensions. Council leaders accused ministers of being “tone deaf” given recent events in the town.
The Home Office and its contractor, Clearsprings, have now withdrawn the proposal. The decision ends plans to expand asylum accommodation beyond existing hotel sites in the district.
Chris Whitbread, the council leader, said:
“This is excellent news for our community and residents can breathe a sigh of relief.
“I wrote with a sense of disbelief when Clearsprings notified us of their intention to procure eight flats in Buckhurst Hill to accommodate asylum seekers.”
Epping already hosts two Home Office asylum seeker hotels. One of them, The Bell Hotel, has been at the centre of ongoing controversy.
Mr Whitbread said pressure on the area had intensified over recent months.
He said: “We’re already hosting two Home Office asylum seeker hotels in the district.
“The impact of events over the last six months has been deeply felt across our district and has created significant challenges for community cohesion and public safety.
“Residents have experienced fear and uncertainty, and the strain on local resources has been considerable.
“This withdrawal shows Clearsprings and the Home Office have listened to us, seen sense, and taken the right decision.”
Mr Whitbread also urged ministers to reconsider the continued use of The Bell Hotel.
He added: “We hope they show similar good sense with regards to the Bell Hotel and move to an early closure.”
The council has repeatedly tried to block the use of The Bell for asylum seekers. It initially secured a temporary injunction, arguing the use breached planning rules.
That decision was overturned by the High Court. Judges accepted the Home Office’s argument that its legal duty to house asylum seekers overrode local planning powers.
Epping Forest District Council appealed the ruling but lost. It was later denied permission to take the case to the Supreme Court.
In a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Mr Whitbread said it was “beyond belief” the Home Office could be “so tone deaf”.
He cited “severe public protests, disturbances, ongoing demonstrations, and significant community tensions” linked to asylum accommodation at The Bell.
The abandoned purchase was part of government attempts to end the use of hotels by 2029.
Ministers are proposing to move 900 migrants into two barracks in Cameron in Inverness and Crowborough training camp in East Sussex.
However, the Home Office is facing a public backlash and potential legal action by Wealden district council in East Sussex over the plans to house up to 540 single, male asylum seekers at the Crowborough army training camp.
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