A Lincolnshire council is set to take legal action against the Government over housing asylum seekers in Skegness hotels. It comes as East Lindsey District Council has submitted a 'pre-action letter' to the Home Office.
The district council is arguing the government has "persistently, repeatedly and unlawfully" encouraged breaches of planning control by instructing the SERCO Group to buy hotel accommodation in Skegness for refugees.
Lincolnshire Live reports they say the Home Office using the hotels would constitute a material change of use that would require planning permission. This has not been applied for or obtained.
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The letter states that these "unauthorised changes" have caused "substantial harm". Councillors said they would take legal action after both Home Secretary Suella Braverman MP and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick MP did not give adequate assurance the hotels would not be used to house any more refugees.
To date, five hotels in the popular tourist resort have been closed to the public to house the asylum seekers - leading to anger and frustration from business owners and restaurants.
The council is also concerned that the Home Office's actions placed a 'potentially unsustainable' burden on local healthcare. Cllr Craig Leyland, 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. 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, the Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness who has "repeatedly urged" PM Rishi Sunak as well as Mrs Braverman and Mr Jenrick to "end the use of tourist hotels in Skegness" to accommodate asylum seekers, has agreed with the action being taken.
He said: "As I said recently at a public meeting in Skegness, it is unacceptable and wholly inappropriate. I have been clear throughout on my three ‘asks’ of Government – deter people from making journeys across the channel in the first place, process people more quickly and look at alternative forms of accommodation to the inappropriate use of hotels needed for tourism.
"Britain is an immensely compassionate country but we need to address the issue of asylum seekers coming in such numbers. It's right that we’re now working more closely with France to stop people making perilous voyages.
"It's right that we are imposing tougher penalties for the criminal people smugglers who exploit the vulnerable, including life imprisonment. It's right that we have done a new deal with Albania to make sure we return those from that country who do not qualify as rapidly as possible.
"I will continue to press the point that these hotels are needed to support our local tourism economy and offer my full support to ELDC in bringing this legal challenge." The matter will now be considered by the Secretary of State.
In a statement, the Home Office 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.
“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.”
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