Dudley Borough residents are deeply concerned about the effects that the increased presence of illegal immigrants/asylum seekers is having within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.

We the undersigned note the recent High Court decision on The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, and call on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC) to reject the relocation of illegal migrants/asylum seekers by HM Home Office to any hotels within our borough.

We call on DMBC to closely examine the High Court ruling on The Bell Hotel, and to seek similar injunctions on any hotels within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley which are currently being used as hostels for illegal migrants/asylum seekers, to action the removal of migrants/asylum seekers from these premises, and to ensure that in future all hotels in our borough remain open to the general public.

We further call on DMBC to examine if sufficient weighting is given to the fear of crime aspect with the dispersal of illegal migrants/asylum seekers in the community via HMO housing; fear of crime is a material planning consideration and given the documented higher incidence of crime associated with the housing of said individuals we request the Council undertake an immediate planning review into it's policy for granting HMO status to applications it receives.