Somani Hotels Ltd v Epping Forest District Council

This Court of Appeal hearing concerned two linked challenges to Eyre J’s grant of an interim injunction under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to restrain the use of the Bell Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers. The court considered (i) whether the Secretary of State for the Home Department should have been joined and permitted to participate in the first instance hearing under CPR Part 19; and (ii) whether the judge’s American Cyanamid balance of convenience assessment in granting the interim injunction was lawful and reasonable.

The court held that the judge erred in refusing joinder: CPR 19.2(2) requires a wide approach to ‘desirability’ of joinder where the rights or duties of a third party (here the SSHD’s statutory duty to provide asylum support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and related regulations) may be affected. The judge set the bar too high, treated the gateway as one of necessity rather than desirability, and wrongly exercised his discretion against joinder.

The court also concluded that Eyre J’s interim injunction decision was vitiated by errors of principle in the balance of convenience: he placed undue weight on the defendant having acted “deliberately” in electing not to apply for planning permission; he failed adequately to preserve the status quo and to give due weight to the national and operational consequences of disrupting asylum accommodation; he treated protest and disorder as factors that could favour injunctive relief in a way that risked incentivising unrest; and he did not give sufficient weight to the delay and procedural conduct of the Council. For these reasons the appeals against the interim injunction were allowed and the injunction set aside.

The claimant, Epping Forest District Council, sought an interim injunction under s.187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to restrain Somani Hotels Ltd from using the Bell Hotel to accommodate asylum seekers on the grounds that such use amounted to a material change of use in breach of planning control. The SSHD applied to be joined as a party and to intervene, asserting that the judge should have allowed participation because the Home Office, through the SSHD, has statutory duties under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and related regulations to provide accommodation and to avoid destitution of asylum seekers.

Procedural posture: The injunction application was heard by Eyre J on 15 August 2025; on 19 August 2025 he dismissed the SSHD’s application for joinder and granted the Council an interim injunction effective from 12 September 2025 until trial, which he listed for 13–17 October 2025. Both Somani and the SSHD applied for permission to appeal; the Court of Appeal heard those applications and appeals on 28 August 2025 and delivered judgment on 1 September 2025.

Issues framed by the court included: (i) whether the SSHD satisfied CPR 19.2(2) so as to be joined as a party (the gateway tests of desirability to resolve matters in dispute and connected issues), and whether the judge had properly exercised his discretion on joinder; (ii) whether the judge correctly applied the American Cyanamid principles and the planning-law framework (including authorities such as South Bucks and Ipswich) in assessing whether there had been a material change of use and where the balance of convenience lay; (iii) the relevance and weight to be given to the defendant’s conduct in not applying for planning permission, the effect of lawful and unlawful protests, the public interest in housing asylum seekers and the SSHD’s statutory duties, delay by the Council, and alternative enforcement remedies (including stop notices).

Reasoning and outcome: The Court of Appeal concluded that the judge erred in law and in discretion by adopting too narrow a view of CPR 19.2(2), effectively applying a necessity test rather than desirability, and by failing to recognise that the SSHD’s statutory duties and unique evidential position made joinder desirable. On the injunction, the court found multiple errors of principle: undue reliance on the defendant’s deliberate decision not to apply for planning permission as a factor favouring an injunction; insufficient weight to preserving the status quo and to the operational and national consequences of displacing asylum accommodation; problematic treatment of protest and disorder as a factor that could support injunctive relief; and failure to treat the Council’s delay and litigation conduct as material. For these reasons permission to intervene was granted to the SSHD, permission to appeal against the injunction was granted to both Somani and the SSHD, the appeals were allowed and the interim injunction set aside. The court remitted the case to continue with the High Court proceedings with the SSHD added as a party.

Appeal allowed. The Court of Appeal held that Eyre J erred both in refusing to join the SSHD under CPR Part 19 and in his exercise of discretion when granting the interim injunction under section 187B. The judge set too high a threshold for joinder, treated the gateway as necessity rather than desirability, and wrongly declined to exercise his discretion to admit the SSHD despite her statutory duties and unique evidential position. On the injunction, the judge gave disproportionate weight to Somani’s deliberate decision not to apply for planning permission, failed sufficiently to preserve the status quo and to account for the operational impact on asylum accommodation, and treated protest and delay in a way that distorted the American Cyanamid balance. For these reasons the appeals were allowed and the interim injunction set aside; the SSHD was granted permission to be added as a party to the proceedings in the High Court.

Appeal to the Court of Appeal from the High Court (King's Bench Division, Eyre J) in proceedings issued 11 August 2025 (High Court file KB-2025-002908). The judge’s substantive and party-status decisions were given on 19 August 2025 ([2025] EWHC 2183 (KB)). The Court of Appeal ([2025] EWCA Civ 1134) allowed the appeals and granted the SSHD permission to be joined as a party.