Investigation begins into hotel being used for asylum seekers

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has started an enforcement investigation into the legal planning status of a County Antrim hotel being used to house asylum seekers.

It comes after unionist politicians raised questions following a court ruling in England, which granted a district council a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from lodging at a hotel in Essex.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MLA Trevor Clarke had asked Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council whether any change of use had been sought for the Chimney Corner Hotel to house asylum seekers.

The hotel has been the subject of some anti-immigration protests over the past 12 months.

Clarke, a South Antrim MLA, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP for the area, Robin Swann said the council had opened a planning enforcement investigation into the status of the hotel.

Clarke said: “The High Court decision makes it clear that housing asylum seekers in hotels without first securing a “change of use” through the proper planning process (from hotel to hostel or immigration centre accommodation) constitutes a breach of planning regulations.

“No one is above the law, not even government departments. If the Home Office or its contractors wish to place large numbers of illegal immigrants into our communities, they must follow the same planning rules as everyone else.”

Clarke claimed that some other hotels in Northern Ireland are also being used to house asylum seekers and that he was not aware of any of them having secured a change of use.

He added: “This issue isn’t just about the specifics of the need for proper planning approval. It highlights the lack of proper oversight and control in terms of the entire UK immigration system.

“The fact these hotels do not have the proper planning approval to house asylum seekers is merely a symptom of the overall problem.”

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said it had “no further comment to make at this time”.

The Home Office, which operates the housing of asylum seekers at hotels in the UK, has also been asked for comment.

The company that represents the Chimney Corner Hotel has also been approached by BBC News NI.

On Wednesday afternoon, DUP MLA Stephen Dunne said that he has written to Ards and North Down Borough Council’s planning office “regarding the ongoing use of the Marine Court Hotel in Bangor to house asylum seekers”.

He said the High Court ruling in England “makes clear that such use without a formal change of use planning application is a breach of planning law”.

“No one is above the law, including the Home Office, or any other government department, and it’s important that everyone is treated equally under the law,” he said.

“The fact these hotels may not have the proper planning approval to house asylum seekers is merely a symptom of a wider issue.”