Home Office slammed over asylum seeker plans

The Home Office wants to end the use of hotels

The Home Office has been criticised over plans to house asylum seekers at a military site in East Sussex.

Last week, officials announced that 600 people would temporarily be housed at a training camp on the outskirts of Crowborough.

Wealden District Council called on the Home Office to reverse the plans, claiming it had "totally failed" to engage with the community or provide assurances around safeguarding for both asylum seekers and residents.

The Home Office said military sites are being considered with the aim of reducing the impact on communities and delivering better outcomes for taxpayers.

Wealden District Council (WDC) said the Home Office's "dire mismanagement" of the situation was "already causing problems", including personal threats against council leaders.

"These tensions will only continue to rise," it said.

The local authority raised concerns about "staffing at the camp, police provision and the additional strain on already overstretched public services".

"Accommodating 600 men who have no right to work in one camp clearly brings risks for asylum seekers and residents alike," it said.

"We want residents to know that the Home Office alone decides where asylum seekers are housed and not councils."

The Home Office has said all residents are mandated to report back to the site every evening.

The MP for Wealden (pictured) has clashed with the local authority over the plans

Wealden District Council said it was ignoring "racist or politically motivated communications", but had been "inundated" by residents "raising significant and valid points of concern".

The NGO Conversation Over Borders, which works with refugees and asylum seekers, said housing people at the military site risked "human rights failures" and could "waste taxpayers' money".

"Everyone seeking safety deserves a place to call home without being isolated or retraumatised," it said.

The Home Office has promised that all sites will comply with safety, security, health and well-being standards.

The plans have sparked a mixed reaction from the community, with some saying the town would show compassion, though others worried about the possible impact on local services.

A petition against the move has been set up, which has attracted just under 5,000 signatures.

The Sussex Weald branch of Reform UK, which held a meeting last week after the announcement, said it has sent a letter to the government demanding an "immediate halt" to what is happening.

"The people of Crowborough have had enough of being ignored," it said. "Crowborough is not a dumping ground for government policy failures."

Wealden MP Nus Ghani has also clashed with Wealden District council in a row about the plans.

Moving asylum seekers to military sites is part of the government's attempt to end the controversial use of hotels – something it has pledged to do before the next election.

As of June this year, around 32,000 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels, down from a peak of more than 56,000 in 2023, according to government figures.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.

"This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities.

"We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery."