Piers Riley-Smith, representing Somani Hotels which owns the Bell Hotel, argued that an injunction would cause the owners “financial harm” because the migrants were a “financial lifeline” that had allowed “money to be reinvested in the hotel”.
Mr Riley-Smith told the court: “It is not [Somani Hotels’] submission to suggest that local communities’ concerns are not genuine. But it is clear that recent protests have expanded far beyond the local community and have gone into concerns about wider ideological, or political issues, by those from outside the community”.
He added in written submissions that the alleged planning breach was “not flagrant” and that it was “entirely wrong” for the council to “suggest the use has been hidden from them”.
