Council considers asylum seeker plan legal challenge

The government has said the site will comply with safety and security standards

A council in East Sussex has said it is considering legal options to stop plans to house asylum seekers at a military site.

Wealden District Council deputy leader Rachel Millward said the local authority had sought legal advice after it was announced 600 people could be placed at a training camp near Crowborough.

Ms Millward told the BBC that councillors could not halt the move with their "usual planning powers" since the site was Crown land.

The Home Office said it was working to end the use of asylum hotels to ease pressure on communities across the country.

It added all sites would comply with safety, security, health and wellbeing standards.

'Radical mismanagement'

Ms Millward said the council was deciding whether to launch a judicial review, where a judge would assess the lawfulness of the Home Office decision.

This would be concerned with the legality of the decision-making process rather than the merits of housing asylum seekers on the site.

Ms Millward told the BBC she was "absolutely appalled" at the officials' "radical mismanagement".

She claimed news about the plan was leaked from the Home Office, which then "confirmed it without public consultation".

"That was a huge shock and a massive disappointment," she said.

The Home Office said it engaged with the operational delivery partners required, which was followed by engagement with local MPs.

"We are continuing to assess the feasibility of using Crowborough," it added.

Rachel Millward said the news was a "huge shock and a massive disappointment"

The Green Party councillor said residents were anxious partly because they had been "kept in the dark" by the Home Office.

She called on officials to hold a public meeting to explain the situation and answer questions.

"People need to be... reassured and understand," Ms Millward said. "They [the Home Office] have a lot of trust to regain."

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Mark O'Brien O'Reilly, a barrister at FTB Chambers, told the BBC any legal action, including judicial review, would be potentially "very expensive".

He said Wealden District Council would face the "difficult" - though not "insurmountable" - challenge of showing the Home Office's decision-making exercise was flawed.

But he warned the council risked having to pay all the legal costs if it lost.

Mixed feelings

Ms Millward said people had valid concerns, but called some fears misplaced as most asylum seekers were "upstanding citizens" who had escaped persecution.

People in Crowborough have expressed mixed feelings to the BBC over the plans.

Some called for compassion, while others worried about the impact on local services and what could happen if those on the site had nothing to do.

A Home Office spokesperson said they were "furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels".

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.

The government has pledged to end the use of asylum hotels, which have been a flashpoint for protests, before the next election.