First asylum seekers moved into former army camp in East Sussex under Labour push to shut down migrant hotels
The first asylum seekers were moved to a former army training camp in East Sussex as part of Labour’s controversial plans to close migrant hotels.
A total of 27 migrants were moved into Crowborough military barracks in the dark early on Thursday morning. While they are the first refugees to arrive in the region, more people are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs hopes to increase the number of refugees in the barracks to 540. The asylum seekers will stay there for three months while their claims are assessed and local councilors said they had been assured the site would only be used for a year.
Moving asylum seekers to major areas such as Crowborough is part of the Home Office’s plan to close expensive immigration hotels. Crowborough camp was last used to house Afghan families in the resettlement programme.
Larger sites, such as the barge Bibby Stockholm, have been used to house migrants in the past, and RAF Wethersfield is still in use despite legal action identifying failings at the site.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has previously assessed that using these large areas is more expensive than paying for hotels.
Immigrant hotels became a hotspot for protests last summer after a migrant living in a hotel in Essex sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman.
Epping Forest District Council sought an injunction to ban asylum seekers from being housed at The Bell Hotel but ultimately failed in the courts, with the Home Office arguing the loss of bed space would be “significant”.
According to the latest government data, there are fewer than 200 hotels currently in use across the country.
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said the opening of Crowborough army camp for refugees was “just the beginning”. He added: “I will be highlighting every location until all asylum hotels are closed and returned to local communities.
“I will not rest until order and control are restored at our borders.”
She said that “illegal migration has been placing immense pressure on communities”, adding: “That is why we are removing the incentives that draw illegal migrants to Britain, closing asylum hotels that are blighting communities”.
Wealden District Council’s chief executive councilor James Partridge reacted to the news, saying the Home Office “didn’t listen to any of us”. He added: “We immediately contacted our legal team and asked them to review the decision to see if there was any way we could launch a legal challenge. We know it’s a long shot, but we have been scouring the Home Office throughout the whole process to see if we can find a way to bring successful legal action.”
Crowborough City Council said it “did not believe the army camp was a suitable location for this purpose”.
In a statement, the council added: “The proposed accommodation for up to 540 adult males is disproportionate compared to the rural population size of Crowborough and raises serious concerns about suitability, capacity and impact.
“The City Council is particularly concerned that it has not been consulted on any community impact assessment, despite being the authority closest to residents and local services.”
Local residents group Crowborough Says No has called on people to join a peaceful protest against the use of the barracks this Sunday.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said the move was “another day of shame for the Labor government”. He said thousands of army and RAF cadets would no longer be able to use the ground for training.
He claimed that the “women and children of Crowborough” would be exposed to risks from asylum seekers living at the site and urged the government to “deport all illegal migrants within a week of arrival”.
The Home Office also said they would use Cameron military barracks in Inverness to house the refugees. The site was previously used for Afghan families.
The Home Office said specialist security would be in Crowborough 24/7, with CCTV and “strict log-in procedures” for residents.
