Security ramps up in town awaiting arrival of 600 lone male asylum seekers as residents are told they’ll only get ’48 hours’ notice’ before migrants move onto army base
Security is being stepped up around an army base to house 600 male refugees; as locals were told they would be given ’48 hours notice’ before the move.
Residents are in revolt over plans for Crowborough Army Training Camp in East Sussex, with thousands of people taking part in noisy protests every week.
Today, guards with dogs were seen patrolling the area, where a second security fence has been erected next to a row of residential cottages.
Kim Bailey, who chairs the Crowborough Shield group, met with Border Security and Asylum Secretary Alex Norris on Wednesday.
Recalling the conversation, he told the Daily Mail: ‘We gave him seven to 14 days notice. He refused and said, “About 48 hours.”
‘We won’t know when they will start. ‘They’ll just shift in the darkness.’
Locals say they were given no warning of the plans to send the men in until January and only learned of it when it was leaked to a newspaper.
Campaigners still believe they can stop the plan and are raising money for a legal fight.
Guards with dogs were seen patrolling Crowborough Army Training Camp in East Sussex today
Plastic sheeting has been erected over the fence around the camp near the quiet village of Crowborough
“The legal team is very good and they look at all angles,” Ms Bailey said.
‘Wealden District Council needs assurance from the Home Office that the site is safe, legal and compliant. And right now the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot prove this.
‘Guards have been patrolling the camp fence for about a week,’ Ms Bailey said.
‘They challenged me over the weekend.
‘I was not at the facility. I was outside the fence and they were patrolling with the dogs and they came over and said, “Are you okay? Can I help you?”
“No, no. I’m just going for a walk,” I said. ‘He was a dog walker.’
The entire security team at the camp is expected to be ready from next week in preparation for the arrival of the first group of refugees.
Locals are concerned about increasing pressure on already inadequate public services and the impact of the Home Office plan on house prices.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said most basic healthcare services would be provided in the camp, although the refugees would be registered with local GPs.
Responding to health and safety concerns, the Home Office said they had to ensure all systems on site were safe, legal and compliant.
A dog walker walking inside the security fence this morning
The camp and barracks were previously used to house Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 before settling elsewhere.
Protesters in Crowborough, East Sussex, marched through the city center carrying banners on Sunday
Organizers are calling for 600 male volunteers to march through the town wearing numbered T-shirts during the third weekend of protests this Sunday.
Sussex Police said they had increased patrols in the town to reassure local people.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner said: ‘We’re increasing our security patrols, there’s just more visibility in the city centre.’
The camp and barracks were previously used to house Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 before settling elsewhere.
The site has a proud history dating back to the war, when it was used by Canadian forces preparing for D-Day.
A separate plan to resettle migrants at a base in Inverness also sparked outrage.
Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Highland city on Saturday to voice their concerns about a proposal to house more than 300 male refugees at Cameron Barracks in the city centre.
War heroes and retirees joined parents and children in voicing their opinions on this undesirable move that would see a historic veterans’ association erased from the complex.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has sought to take a tougher stance on illegal immigration by announcing a series of reforms aimed at making Britain less attractive.
A new package would see illegal immigrants who make successful human rights claims to avoid deportation be forced to wait 30 years to get permission to remain permanently.
Sources said this penalty would apply, for example, to asylum seekers who have unsuccessfully made a successful legal challenge under the provisions of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights ‘right to family life’.
Most immigrants currently qualify for ILR after spending five years legally in the UK, but the new baseline will double to ten.
