The county council leader is urging district and borough authorities across Kent to take legal action against unlawful asylum seeker hotels.
Despite only a few hotels being used across the entire county, Cllr Linden Kemkaran has told local planning authorities to step in if the correct planning permissions are not in place or not being followed.
It comes after a key legal ruling this week, where Epping Forest Council in Essex was told to remove people from the Epping Bell Hotel as the venue did not have proper planning permission to host that many people permanently.
The hotel has been the focus of protests in recent weeks after a person staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
The use of hotels to house asylum seekers, who often first arrive in east Kent, is hugely controversial, and the Labour government has committed to ending it.
In a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) today, Cllr Kemkaran (Ref) said: “Today, I’ve written to my fellow leaders here in Kent to ask them two things about the asylum seekers’ hotel situation.
“Firstly, I’d like to know how many hotels in their districts have been turned into accommodation for asylum seekers or illegal migrants.
“Secondly, have the planning permissions for the change of use from hotel to asylum seeker accommodation been sought and granted?
“If it transpires that those permissions have not been correctly granted, then I’ll be urging them in the strongest possible terms to take legal action very swiftly.”
District and borough councils are responsible for housing asylum seekers sent into their jurisdiction and the new legal precedent following the Epping Bell case means more councils could follow suit.
That could mean ending current hotel use or stopping hotels from being used for that purpose in the first place.
However, many Kent authorities have no such hotels within their boundaries.
Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone and Hythe councils confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that there are no asylum hotels in their areas.
Earlier this year, online far-right activist Active Patriot circulated rumours that Premier Inn facilities in Herne Bay and Whitstable were being used for asylum seekers.
Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, confirmed at the time the reports were untrue.
Ashford Borough Council (ABC) confirmed that it hosts only one and it will not be pursuing any legal action to close it down.
Gravesham Borough Council (GBC) said it has no plans to pursue legal action either.
Cllr Matt Boughton (Con) responded to Cllr Kemkaran’s post, saying that there are no asylum hotels in his Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council’s jurisdiction.
“Well done to the Conservative-led Epping Forest Council for forcing such a positive change in their area,” he added.
The location of all asylum hotels in Kent and the wider country is not entirely known, as they are not routinely publicised for safety and security reasons.
In a statement sent out later today, Cllr Kemkaran continued: “For nearly a decade now, Kent has been on the frontline of the migrant crisis.
“The government’s lack of a plan to deal with it successfully is putting an unreasonable and unsustainable strain on our already vastly overstretched public services.
“We will continue to support our district and borough councils and write to the government about the impact of these facilities on our residents and urge them for greater transparency and appropriate action.”
Councils remain legally responsible for providing housing to asylum seekers.
So, those authorities which attempt to use the Epping Bell precedent to prevent or delay the use of hotels under planning grounds may end up having to house asylum seekers in private rented housing sourced from local landlords.
