THE Home Office has, this morning, confirmed to Epping Forest District Council that it is terminating its contract with the Bell Hotel in Epping as asylum accommodation.

It will cease being used by 11 July 2026 and all service users have been notified of the closure and relocated to other parts of its asylum estate.

This follows repeated attempts by Epping Forest District Council over the past 2 days to ascertain the situation at the site. The news came as a complete surprise, but a welcome one, as it brings an important opportunity to concentrate on re-building our community that has been so severely impacted and divided by the damaging events of the past year.

Epping has traditionally been a community built on trust, inclusivity and mutual support with a strong sense of ‘belonging’ … something recent events have tested to the limits.

The Leader of Epping Forest District Council Councillor Chris Whitbread, expressed his deep disappointment at the way the Home Office has handled this and the lack of communication, saying:

It is extremely disappointing the Home Office has failed to communicate with us in a timely manner on such an important issue that has had such a major impact on our town.

It shows how little regard the Home Office has for our town, our community, and the people of Epping who have suffered immeasurably over the course of the last year because of the Home Office’s use of the Bell Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.

I am hopeful that our community, and particularly those residents living in the immediate vicinity of the Bell Hotel, can now be afforded some peace.

We hope the Home Office will work with the hotel owner to restore the street scene around the Bell Hotel and we would welcome a conversation with Somani Hotels about its plans for the future of the site.