Former RAF base could house Afghan refugees

Jaguar House at RAF Coltishall (pictured in 2024) has been mostly un-used since 2006

A former airbase could be used to temporarily house up 200 Afghan refugees in the UK.

A company working for the Home Office has applied to use part of the former RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, to provide homes for families who worked with Britain but fled Afghanistan after the Taliban resumed control.

Contractor BM Trust Ltd said some of the people were already being housed in Ministry of Defence accommodation and hotels – and it wanted to "make clear" they were not asylum seekers.

It has applied to use empty buildings temporarily for 12 months, with Broadland District Council due to make a decision about the application at a later date.

The government has been asking local councils to help it find accommodation to house people under the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

Those eligible for housing under the programme include those who worked alongside British armed forces, along with other vulnerable groups such as woman and girls.

British forces helping evacuate people eligible for relocation in 2021 during the collapse of the former Afghan government after a Taliban offensive

In its application, BM Trust said it wanted to use the former officers' mess – Jaguar House – and other buildings as accommodation for "a maximum of 200 residents, comprising families with adult women, men and children".

"We wish to make clear that the current proposal relates to Afghan refugee transitional accommodation and not asylum seekers," it added.

The company said the people would be able to claim benefits and temporarily register with a GP, with education on-site for pre-school and primary age children, while older ones would be enrolled in local secondary schools.

Food and laundry facilities would also be provided.

Jaguar House is on Jaguar Drive on the edge of the former base, which is north of Norwich.

It said families would stay at the site for nine months, to allow other accommodation to be found, with the government providing funding to cover costs.

"Support will be provided to enable occupants to move on to settled homes and enable them to establish roots and integrate into local communities and begin the path to self-sufficiency," the firm said.

'Urgently need'

In its application BM Trust also included letters from the government from earlier this year, when it asked local authorities to help resettle people:

"It is testament to the support of local government that we have been able to resettle over 30,000 Afghans since August 2021, but there is much more work to do, and we urgently need further support," said one signed by the then-Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard and the then-Housing Minister Lord Khan.

Jaguar House has been mostly vacant since RAF Coltishall closed in 2006, but was used as an assessment centre for asylum seekers between April 2020 and February 2021.

The Home Office sought to use it for the same purpose in 2022, but dropped its plan.