Plan to buy flats to house asylum seekers withdrawn

The government has withdrawn plans to buy flats to use as accommodation for migrants in an area, a council said.

Epping Forest District Council said the government and its contractor Clearsprings no longer intended to buy eight flats in Buckhurst Hill.

The plan had faced strong objections from the community and the authority's leader, Chris Whitbread, suggested the proposal was "tone deaf" to residents' concerns in a letter to the Prime Minister.

The BBC has contacted the Home Office for comment.

"The impact of events over the last six months has been deeply felt across our district and has created significant challenges for community cohesion and public safety," he added.

During the summer, thousands of people protested after an asylum seeker living at The Bell Hotel in Epping was charged with - and later jailed - for sexual offences.

Whitbread added in Epping two hotels were already being used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers.

Residents have experienced "fear and uncertainty" and a "strain on local resources" over the issue, the Conservative councillor added.

"This withdrawal shows that Clearsprings and the Home Office have listened to us, seen sense, and taken the right decision," Whitbread said.

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