Wethersfield: Braintree Council to appeal asylum seeker housing plan

The Home Office wants to accommodate up to 1,700 male adults at MDP Wethersfield

A council is to appeal against a High Court decision to allow the housing of asylum seekers on a former RAF base.

Braintree Council will challenge the Home Office plan to allow up to 1,700 people be placed at Wethersfield in north Essex.

The authority is also applying for a judicial review into the decision.

The BBC understands the government does not intend to move male adult asylum seekers on to the Wethersfield site until after 26 June.

Last month, a High Court judge ruled that Braintree Council did not have jurisdiction over the Crown land, but allowed the authority to challenge the decision in the Court of Appeal.

A second judicial review into the Wethersfield plan has been lodged at the High Court by Gabriel Clarke-Holland, 24, who lives near the former base.

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Mr Clarke-Holland's action will also challenge the environmental decision-making of Secretary of State Michael Gove into the use of the site.

In Lincolnshire, West Lindsey Council failed to secure an injunction in the High Court on Thursday to stop RAF Scampton being used to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers.

No date has yet been set for Braintree Council's appeal.

About 250 people turned out for a protest in Wethersfield in March

Council leader Graham Butland said residents would be kept updated.

"We have continued to look at the other legal options available to us and we have also issued an application for judicial review challenging the Home Office's decision to use the site for this purpose," he said.

"The Home Office can still prepare the site whilst legal proceedings are in progress and we understand survey work is still ongoing.

"We still need to prepare to support any asylum seekers if legal proceedings are not successful.

"We are continuing to work with local partners to plan for this, as well as mitigating any pressures on local services and the impact on the local community."

Mr Butland added that the authority would press the Home Office to "engage proactively with the community".

The government said last year that housing asylum seekers in hotels was costing it almost £7m daily.