Pembrokeshire army camp used to house asylum seekers up for sale

Penally camp has gone on the market along with a rifle range

An army training camp used to house asylum seekers is being sold off by the UK government.

Penally camp, near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, has been put up for sale alongside a coastal rifle range which is bigger than 100 football pitches.

The site was first used to train soldiers in the 1860s after the Crimean War.

Pembrokeshire councillor Phillip Kidney said the land could be used for affordable housing.

In September 2020, during the Covid pandemic, the Home Office moved hundreds of asylum seekers into the camp.

This sparked protests and criticism from residents, Pembrokeshire council, the Welsh government and the commissioner of Dyfed-Powys Police.

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Inspectors called the camp "run down" while one asylum seeker called his time there "the worst period of his life".

In March 2022, then Welsh Secretary Simon Hart confirmed the Home Office was handing Penally Camp back to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The MoD said last December that Penally was no longer needed and would close.

Hundreds of asylum seekers were moved into the camp during the Covid pandemic

It has now appeared for sale on the UK government property finder website.

The site is described as covering 5.8 hectares (14.3 acres) and contains about 50 huts and other buildings.

The rifle range, on the other side of the A4139 from the camp, is an area of grass and scrub measuring 86 hectares.

Also for sale is land once used as a sewage treatment facility for the barracks.

Redevelopment of the camp would require planning permission from the council whilst building on the rifle range would be a matter for Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Manorbier and Penally councillor, Phillip Kidney, called the sale "not a huge surprise".

"We knew the camp was coming out of commission," Mr Kidney said.

He said the "ideal scenario" was for the camp to be used for affordable housing.

The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment.

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