MP joins campaign for certainty on Northeye

The Northeye site, near Bexhill, was bought for £15.3m last year

An MP has joined campaigners calling for certainty on the future of a former prison earmarked as an asylum detention centre by the previous government.

The Northeye site, near Bexhill, was bought for £15.3m last year, with plans to turn the land into accommodation for up to 1,200 men who had arrived in the UK on small boats.

Kieran Mullan, Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle, is calling on the Labour government to "let people know what is going on".

The government has said a decision will be made on the future of the site "at the earliest opportunity".

The purchase of Northeye was intended to increase capacity in the asylum system when the previous Conservative government was spending £8m a day on hotel accommodation.

There was fierce opposition from those who live on the boundary of the site, who said it was inappropriate for that use.

It is not clear whether the new Labour government - which says it is currently spending £6m a day on hotel accommodation - will go ahead with plans to re-develop the Northeye site to house asylum seekers.

"We're tired of the lack of information from the Home Office," said Nigel Jacklin, who runs the No to Northeye campaign.

"This is people's homes and people's lives."

Questions over future asylum accommodation

There is currently a backlog of 36,000 asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their cases and it is still not clear where they - and future arrivals - will live while they are processed.

Last week it was announced the contract for the Bibby Stockholm barge, which houses asylum seekers off the coast of Dorset, will not be renewed past January.

Dr Mullan said the Northeye site was not suitable because "it is a quiet residential road in a town that's already struggling with infrastructure".

"Bringing in hundreds and hundreds of people into that environment I don't think is the right decision," he added.

Home Office minister Angela Eagle said she understood the uncertainty, "especially in the local community".

"A decision will be made on the use of the Northeye site at the earliest opportunity," she said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as we continue to identify a range of options to reduce the use of hotels.

“We remain committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as part of this process.”