Council seeks further action against seafront hotel housing asylum seekers

Great Yarmouth Borough Council had previously issued a temporary stop order to The Hotel Victoria, which houses 80 male asylum seekers.

With that order now expired, the council is considering taking further enforcement action to prevent them being housed there.

The Embassy Hotel (Image: Liz Coates)

It comes as the council waits to see if it has won a legal battle to stop a second hotel - The Embassy Hotel - from also housing asylum seekers.

Under planning legislation, the council sought an injunction to prevent the hotel’s owner, Kashif Jan, and the company that oversees the scheme on behalf of the government - Serco Group - from using the second property.

The result is due out later this month.

A statement from the council said: “The council has secured an interim injunction in relation to one hotel in a prime tourism location where there is a proposed use as a hostel for accommodating asylum seekers.

“The council has also served a temporary stop notice on a hotel currently being used as a hostel to house asylum seekers. This has now expired and, therefore, the council is considering further enforcement action.

“As a council representing our local community, we have always expressed our willingness to engage with the Home Office to find suitable properties to accommodate asylum seekers, but the absence of any meaningful dialogue or intention to follow due process by the Home Office has resulted in us pursuing this course of action.”

Earlier this week the council's chief executive, Sheila Oxtoby, defended the authority's actions on BBC Radio 4.

She said: “We’ve always offered to work with the Home Office to find the most suitable accommodation and the best solution for both asylum seekers and the existing community.

“But that has largely fallen on deaf ears, and our offer has not been taken up.”

The Home Office, which is responsible for housing asylum seekers and their care and support, had said it would not comment on the Great Yarmouth hotel accommodation plans.

But a spokesman added: "We are dealing with an unprecedented increase in asylum cases. Despite this, we continue to ensure that accommodation provided is safe, secure and leaves no one destitute."

A coach arrives at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)