Councils in Hampshire are keeping their options open following a High Court decision to block a hotel in Essex from accommodating asylum seekers.

Epping Forest District Council secured a temporary injunction earlier this week to stop the use of The Bell Hotel in Epping.

Asylum seekers must be moved out of the hotel by 4pm on September 12, Mr Justice Eyre ruled.

Rushmoor Borough Council confirmed it was “carefully considering” the judgement.

The local authority confirmed accommodation in the area is used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers.

In recent months, Potters International Hotel in Aldershot has been the scene of several anti-migrant protests.

A Rushmoor Borough Council spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering this judgment and keeping all options available to us on the table.

“We have already worked with the government to successfully close the asylum accommodation opened at Hillside Place in Farnborough, and we will continue to work closely with the Home Office to meet their ambition to close all asylum hotels as swiftly as possible and ensure the best outcome for Aldershot and Farnborough.”

Home Office figures showed there were 92 asylum seekers housed temporarily in a hotel accommodation in Southampton as of June 30 and 168 in Rushmoor.

A Southampton City Council spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering this judgment and the options available to us as a council.

“We recognise the challenges the government faces in managing the asylum process and will continue to work closely with the Home Office to support their ambition to close all asylum hotels by the end of this parliament, if not sooner, to ensure the best outcome for Southampton.”

Several demonstrations have taken place outside Highfield House Hotel in Portswood this summer, with the most recent protest being held on Sunday, August 17.

Portsmouth City Council ruled out copying Epping Forest’s legal action, stating that the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea houses families with children and is set to be transformed into private homes.

The Royal Beach Hotel has been the focus of anti-asylum protests, calling for its closure.

A Portsmouth City Council spokesperson said they believed the situation in the city was “very different” to Epping, which “was used for single males where as the Royal Beach Hotel is being used as family accommodation, including younger children”.

“We know the owners of the hotel are in the process of converting the building into private accommodation and look forward to it becoming homes for Portsmouth residents,” the spokesperson said.

“Once the hotel is converted, due to the current housing crisis, the council would not support any plans to replace it or increase the number of properties being used in the city for asylum dispersal.”

The Home Office figures said there 73 asylum seekers housed in a hotel in Portsmouth.

The areas covered by Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council, East Hampshire District Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, New Forest District Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council had no asylum seekers temporarily housed in hotels.