Enforcement probe launched into Co Antrim hotel amid asylum seeker accommodation row

Inset: DUP MLA Trevor Clarke (South Antrim)

A planning enforcement investigation is to be launched into the Chimney Corner Hotel near Belfast, which has been used to house asylum seekers, DUP MLA Trevor Clarke has confirmed.

The South Antrim Assembly member welcomed the move, describing it as both a legal necessity and a reflection of wider concerns about the UK’s immigration system.

The development comes after a High Court ruling in favour of Epping Forest District Council, which successfully argued that housing asylum seekers in hotels without formal planning approval constituted a breach of planning law.

Mr Clarke revealed that he had raised the matter directly with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Head of Planning Enforcement, questioning whether an official change of use had been sought for the Chimney Corner site.

He said:

“The High Court decision makes it clear that housing asylum seekers in hotels without first securing a ‘change of use’ through the proper planning process (from hotel to hostel or immigration centre accommodation) constitutes a breach of planning regulations.

“No one is above the law, not even government departments. If the Home Office or its contractors wish to place large numbers of illegal immigrants into our communities, they must follow the same planning rules as everyone else.”

The DUP representative added that he was aware of other hotels in Northern Ireland currently being used for similar purposes, none of which he believed had secured the required planning approval.

He continued:

“DUP Councillors in those areas have directed that similar enforcement investigations should be commenced.

“This issue isn’t just about the specifics of the need for proper planning approval. It highlights the lack of proper oversight and control in terms of the entire UK immigration system. The fact these hotels do not have the proper planning approval to house asylum seekers is merely a symptom of the overall problem.”

The Chimney Corner Hotel case now places renewed focus on how asylum accommodation is managed across Northern Ireland, and whether planning law has been consistently applied.