ANOTHER local council has lost a bid for a High Court injunction temporarily banning the use of a hotel to accommodate asylum-seekers. 

Fenland District Council brought the legal action following plans to use the Rose and Crown Hotel in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, to temporarily house asylum-seekers. 

The Tory-led council had argued that the area was an inappropriate place for people seeking asylum, due to “recognised problems” in Wisbech, including “migrant exploitation,” human-trafficking and gangs. 

However, in a ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Holgate rejected the council’s application for an injunction, saying there was “very little detail” given regarding the risk of migrant exploitation.

He told the High Court in London: “It is not said that the hotel is unsuitable, the point made by the claimant is that the town is.

“No real link has been put forward between a problem that exists on a national scale and the accommodation of asylum-seekers in a hotel.”

Fenland District Council leader Chris Boden said he was disappointed by the ruling. 

“We remain deeply concerned about the housing of asylum-seekers there, as there has been no consideration of the potential risks these vulnerable people will be facing or the significant amount of support they will need,” he said. 

Friday’s ruling comes after three other councils were denied similar injunctions.

On November 11, both Ipswich Borough Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council lost bids to extend interim injunctions, while Stoke-on-Trent was also refused an extension on November 2. 

Refugee rights campaigners have criticised the Home Office’s use of hostels to house asylum-seekers, warning that they are inappropriate places for vulnerable people in the long term. 

They argue that refugees should be housed in the community.