Epping Forest MP Neil Hudson asked Yvette Cooper in the House of Commons for the Bell Hotel to be closed due to “deeply troubling incidents” associated with it.
The hotel has been the setting for regular protests, after one of the asylum seekers living there was charged with sexual assaults.
These protests have also seen some arrests and charges.
Mr Hudson, alongside Brentwood and Ongar MP Alex Burghart, Epping Forest District Council and the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, have asked the government to close the hotel immediately and make alternative arrangements.
Mr Hudson said in the House of Commons: “Home secretary please, we have a tinderbox situation in Epping.
“This hotel is in the wrong place, right near a school and many concerned parents have contacted me.”
Mr Hudson expressed his disappointment with the Labour government’s successful appeal against an interim injunction granted to Epping Forest District Council, which would have stopped the hotel’s use as asylum accommodation.
The council’s attempt to appeal this decision at the Supreme Court was rejected by the Court of Appeal, it said on Tuesday (September 2).
Council leader Chris Whitbread said: “We represent the interests of local residents. The implications for local democracy and good government are profound if the home secretary’s powers trump the statutory responsibilities of councils.
“We consider we have a strong case for a final injunction. The final injunction hearing is expected to be heard some time in early October.
“In the meantime, the council is keeping all our options open, including seeking permission from the Supreme Court to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal.”
The authority said it opposes the hotel’s use for asylum seekers, saying it “is in breach of planning control and is against the interests of those living in, working in and using the area”.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper responded to Mr Hudson in the Commons, agreeing that all asylum hotels, including the Bell Hotel, need to be closed as soon as possible.
However, she said that “needs to be done in an orderly and sustainable manner so that they are closed for good”.
She also said: “We need to ensure that that is done in an ordered way that does not simply make the problem worse in other neighbouring areas or cause the kind of disordered chaos that led to the opening of so many hotels in the first place.”
