Well, good to see you this evening. So,
your reaction then to the government
appealing against this closure.
>> It's a deeply disappointing move by the
government. I mean, the Home Office have
treated our community with contempt
since the very start of this process
since the hotel reopened earlier this
year. The council continually putting
concerns about an allmale processing
center going in on the edge of a
community very close to a school. Uh
we've tried diplomatic and democratic
routes. So we looked at this different
route which was successful in the high
court which was taking legal action
against the hotel owner with an interim
injunction which we were so pleased to
see was successful because ultimately
the owner was working was was operating
without the appropriate planning
permissions. So this news today is
deeply disappointing. It just feels like
the government are again treating our
community with contempt and siding with
the hotel owner rather than local people
who've expressed deep concerns around
this change of use.
>> Yeah. But of course, the government are
saying today that they essentially want
exactly the same thing that you want.
They want all these asylum hotels to be
closed. They want them all gone, but
they want to do it in a managed,
responsible way to stop uh chaotic
scenes taking place around the country.
I appreciate the government has a huge
challenge with the illegal immigration
crisis and obviously you know they need
to be able to process these
applications. What I would say that the
hotel in Eping is completely untenable.
We warned the government about the many
issues with the Bell Hotel and why it
wasn't an appropriate site. The
government keep coming back with this
line churning out the same line that
we're going to close all hotels by the
end of the parliament. Well, that is
four years away and that is not
acceptable for my community here in
Epian and indeed not acceptable for
communities across the country.
>> Where where should they go these 140
asylum seekers?
>> So there are different solutions that
the government can look at. I mean the
first thing I would say it's not down to
the local authority here in Eping Forest
or local people in Eping to to solve the
the illegal immigration crisis or come
up with solutions as to where these
people should be housed. But there are
other solutions. I mean the government
needs to look at reducing the incentives
for people to come over. So looking at
the the benefit system we have in this
country which many feel is is too soft.
But they also need to look at processing
people quicker and in more appropriate
locations. Um Kebin has talked about
pop-up nightingale um type immigration
processing centers which I think would
be far more appropriate particularly if
they're on the edge of communities and
not within the heart of communities. It
should be stressed in Epin Forest. Our
main objection is the fact that they
were all males within this location. And
we've had alleged sexual assault,
alleged arson, and several other
incidents related to this hotel. And
local people don't feel safe. And it is
unfair that local people have to pay the
consequences of a broken immigration
system.
>> You know what the crit you know what the
criticism is going to be here? It's
going to be that this is a case of
nimism. You you don't you don't like
them where you are and you want to push
them somewhere else. Um, but you don't
really have a solution as to where they
can go.
>> As I've said, it's not up to the people
of Epin or the district council in Epin,
we're a small district council, to solve
the illegal immigration crisis. We've
actually got two hotels within our
district. So, we're already taking more
than our our fair share. And what I
would say is this hotel in Epin is
untenable for everyone. It's untenable
for the community that no longer feels
safe. We've had a lot of disruption from
the protest as well, may I add. have had
a a lot of disruption in recent weeks,
but it's also unsafe for the people
living within the hotel. So, it's not
about nimism. People locally have
legitimate concerns. The hotel is an
entirely inappropriate location. But
actually, when we go back to this court
ro ruling, it's actually not about the
asylum seekers at all or the use of it's
the fact that the the hotel is being
used illegally. They do not have
planning permission to operate as an
asylum processing center. And that is
what the judgment was on. And ultimately
rather than trying to go against the
planning system, the government should
take a look at what they're doing with
these hotels which people like dislike
immensely and and and look at a
different approach and I would say I
don't approach HMO.
>> Yeah, sorry to interrupt. Is there a
fear this could be seen as a victory
though for for violent protest? I mean
there is a lot of concern that this bank
holiday weekend could see flare-ups all
over the country. So I think this is a
victory for the people of Epin Forest
and I've lived in Eping my whole life
and the majority of people in Epin say
that we want the hotel closed. They have
very legitimate concerns around it, but
they don't necessarily like the protest.
So I have respect for anyone who wants
to protest peacefully, but I have myself
condemned those who don't protest
peacefully on both the left and the
right of politics. So So what I would
say to people is is a call for calm. We
want this through legal means and and
using democracy. So I would I would urge
people to stay calm in this situation.
But ultimately to to resolve this, the
government need to get a grip of the
illegal immigration crisis. They need to
stop the issue at the border and
actually make sure we don't have the
level of people coming over. 50,000
people this year so far. This is
unsustainable and communities like mine
in Epin shouldn't have to be bearing the
consequences.
>> Yeah. Of course, the government would
say that the backlog in cases is down.
deportations overall are up as well.
Just finally, would you like to see
asylum seekers able to work so that they
can actually earn money while they're
being processed?
>> I think we need to look at um look at
routes of asylum. But actually, what's
the key point is a lot of people here
are coming in illegally. So, you need to
look at who these people are. And this
is the big concern about not knowing who
are in these hotels. Obviously once
people gain asylum, if they gain asylum,
you want people to be contributing to
the economy, but what I would say is if
there are people coming in illegally,
perhaps not with legitimate means, then
then then there needs to be action to
deport them. You know, we've got huge um
too much illegal immigration. I'm
someone who believes that we should have
a fair immigration system where we have
people with the right skills in this
country. But the current system where
people are coming over illegally,
they're living in the hotels funded by
the taxpayer is just not right. And we
need to look at this and solve this for
good.
>> Okay. Holly Whitbred, Conservative
Council on Eping Forest District
Council. Thanks so much.