Epping Forest District Council has unanimously voted to urge the Government to close a hotel housing asylum seekers following a series of protests around the site.
Multiple demonstrations have been held outside the Bell Hotel in Epping since July 13, after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the hotel again on Thursday evening.
Police have made 18 arrests and charged seven people in connection with the demonstrations.
The council passed a motion on Thursday calling on the Government "to immediately and permanently close" the hotel "for the purposes of asylum processing".
The father of the girl allegedly assaulted by Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, said “it’s not fair that the Government are putting our children and grandchildren at risk, even their own”.
In the message, which was read to a meeting by Councillor Shane Yerrell, he added: “I do not want or condone any of the violence that has taken place at the protests – that’s not what we’re about, and that’s not what we’re trying to achieve – it’s only going to make things go the other way.
“I just want the hotel to be moved, not only off our streets, but away from making any other family feel how we are feeling right now.”
Kebatu denied sexual assaulting the 14-year-old girl at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and will stand trial in August.
A Home Office spokesperson said the Government was "reducing expensive hotel use as part of a complete overhaul of the asylum system."
“From over 400 asylum hotels open in summer 2023, costing almost £9 million a day, there are now less than 210. We want them all closed by the end of this Parliament. We have also removed more than 35,000 people with no right to be in the UK.
“People rightly want to see a robust and effective asylum system and we have a duty to support people who would otherwise be destitute and sleeping rough while their case is decided. Any hotel that remains open is carefully managed with dedicated security and monitoring arrangements," they continued.
Last Thursday's protest began peacefully but escalated into what officers described as "scattered incidents of violence" targeting police and property.
Eight officers were injured and several police vehicles were damaged as missiles were thrown during the disorder.
The protests have drawn national attention and sparked political controversy, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington to resign over claims that officers transported left-wing protesters to the scene. The Essex Police chief has denied these claims.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said on Thursday night: “I want to thank all those who protested peacefully this evening.
“We put a number of measures in place to ensure you could express your democratic right peacefully, lawfully, and safely.
“As I have consistently said, we will not tolerate anyone who believes they can come here to commit crime and disorder. If you think you can, we will deal with you.
“We had robust plans in place this evening to ensure people could demonstrate peacefully and to ensure they, and the wider community, are kept safe.”
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
