At a full council meeting on Thursday 13 July, Dorset Council Leader, Cllr Spencer Flower, made the following comments in response to a question about the Home Office’s decision to house asylum seekers on a barge in Portland Port.
Dorset Council was first notified about a planned asylum seeker barge on 21 March 2023. This was after the Home Office had already reached a provisional agreement with Portland Port Ltd to site the barge in the Port.
Portland is not the right place for the barge. This is why we sought advice from a leading barrister, Richard Wald KC, about potential grounds for a legal challenge. Mr Wald was chosen because of his expertise and his success in obtaining an injunction against Home Office plans for asylum hotels in Great Yarmouth.
A team of council officers drawn from our legal service, planning, regulatory services, housing and children’s and adult social care prepared detailed background information and held meetings with the barrister to identify possible grounds for a legal challenge.
We focused on the planning status of Portland Port and whether it could be argued that the proposal to site the barge in the Port was unlawful because no planning permission had been obtained. In addition we asked for advice about whether the Home Office should have consulted the local community and the Council about their proposal. We also sought advice about whether the barge proposal was so obviously wrong that a court would be likely to intervene and declare it unlawful (what lawyers call an irrational decision).
After a thorough examination of the issues the barrister advised that we did not have strong grounds to bring a legal challenge. He also advised that there was no requirement for the Home Office to consult us about their proposals. Ahead of the meeting this evening the barrister has confirmed that this is still his opinion.
In some cases councils have obtained temporary injunctions after arguing that accommodating asylum seekers in hotels would involve a change of use from hotel to hostel accommodation requiring a new grant of planning permission. The circumstances at Portland Port are very different because where the barge is to be positioned is below the mean low water mark. This means that the barge is outside of our planning control and there is no requirement for planning permission from the council.
I still believe that Portland Port is the wrong place for the barge and later this evening at Full Council I will be supporting a motion from my colleague Cllr Tony Ferrari in opposition to the deal reached between the Home Office and Portland Port. Despite this I have also accepted advice that we do not have good grounds to bring a legal challenge. I for one do not wish to use local council tax to pay for an unsuccessful legal challenge.
The Notice of Motion that was proposed at Full Council by Councillors Tony Ferrari and Louie O’Leary was as follows:
“That this council condemns the commercial Agreement between the Home Office and Portland Port for the mooring of the Bibby Stockholm barge to accommodate up to 500 asylum seekers at this location.
“That the mooring of the barge in Portland Port is an entirely inappropriate location and should be removed at the earliest opportunity.
“That Dorset Council, while not the decision makers, will work with agencies to mitigate the impact this will have on Dorset.”
This motion was then amended by Councillor Paul Kimber to include the following:
“This Dorset Council recognises the contribution that refugees have made to our Dorset economy and society over the years, whilst we accept that the Bibby Stockholm Barge is inhumane and is entirely inappropriate.
“Dorset Council welcomes all refugees to be treated with dignity and respect.”
Councillors voted overwhelmingly to carry this motion and its amendment.
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