A normal cul-de-sac home in east London, was shut down by officials after they found out that the residence was set up to secretly be an 18-bed hotel.
Neighbours were suspicious when they noticed bus loads of people arriving at the property in Romford. This two-star Tudor House accommodation received reviews on the hotel booking website, booking.com.
One of the neighbours, Linda Burns expressed, "A couple of weeks ago we suddenly saw a lot of activity with taxis. One day a large party bus turned up. We saw lots of people coming and going. We just thought it was very odd- they looked like backpackers. Then I was over at the local shop and I saw three boys come in and they were very obviously Australian. Then there were more people and the front door was always open."
There were many calls made by apprehensive neighbours which led to planning officers and fire brigade inspectors to raid the end-of-terrace property, and consequently shutting it down.
Booking.com still has the hotel in its list, however, it no longer allows visitors to book. Another website, Let's Book Hotel, removed the listing while hotels.uk.com still allows visitors to browse details for the hotel but does not allow room reservations.
Havering's planning chief, Cllr Osman Dervish stated, "We have told the owner to stop using the property as a hotel as it does not have planning permission. We will continue to monitor the use and take enforcement action if necessary. Anyone who wishes to change the use of their property should make sure they obtain the relevant permissions before they do so. Information about planning can be found on Havering Council’s website."
The name linked to the house in historic planning documents is Amjad Ali. The Standard reported that Ali said, “I left the premises at the beginning of April so I don't know. "The property has been on the market for five years. Somebody has bought it- finished. I don't know what's going on- I live 180 miles away."
However, Romford Recorder have reported him stating, “I know nothing about a hotel because I have rented out the property. I have given an AST [assured shorthold tenancy] and it is being investigated."
