An MP says she she is furious about plans to house asylum seekers at a military site in East Sussex.
On Monday (October 27), the Home Office confirmed that two barracks in Scotland and southern England would be used to house around 900 men temporarily, with officials working to identify more sites in the coming weeks and months.
The plans will see men housed at Crowborough Training Camp and Cameron Barracks in Inverness.
Conservative MP for Sussex Weald Nus Ghani said the plans were “wholly inappropriate” and has now launched a petition in a bid to stop the scheme going ahead.
“Like many Sussex Weald residents, I am furious to read from the media that this Labour government's Home Office and Ministry of Defence have been in private conversations with the Green Party and Liberal Democrat leadership at Wealden District Council to potentially use the Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers in the near future,” she said.
“Under the previous Conservative government, the Crowborough site was rejected outright.
"This was due to its layout and the difficulty in it being adapted and the extra costs that would be involved.
“Furthermore, modifying the site would put it in conflict with the local council’s Crowborough National Landscape and planning policy.
“This site has already been rejected as being wholly inappropriate. If you think Crowborough deserves better, please sign my petition.”
Both the Crowborough and Inverness sites were used to accommodate Afghan families evacuated during the withdrawal from Kabul in 2021 while they were resettled elsewhere, with that work ending earlier this year.
The move is part of government efforts to end the use of asylum hotels, which a parliamentary committee branded “failed, chaotic and expensive” on Monday.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.
“This government will close every asylum hotel.
“Work is well under way, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs.”
Other options being considered include military and industrial sites, temporary facilities and disused accommodation, and officials have been ordered to accelerate work identifying alternatives.
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 but 2,500 more than at the same point last year.
Expected costs of Home Office accommodation contracts for 2019-2029 have tripled from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, following what the Commons Home Affairs Committee called a “dramatic increase” in demand.
Daniel Manvell, Labour councillor and cabinet member for housing, benefits and revenues at Wealden District Council also shared his views on the decision.
He said: "I am deeply concerned about the impact on local services and the risk of community tensions that the use of Crowborough Army Camp as asylum accommodation may cause in Crowborough, and more widely in nearby Uckfield. That is my priority. As a local councillor, I am seeking answers from the government on the support it will provide.
"However, it is also clear that continuing to use hotels to house asylum seekers in towns up and down the country is not fair or sustainable for local residents. I am glad the government is dealing with this issue by assessing asylum claims much more quickly, reducing delays for asylum seekers and costs for residents."
He added: "The Conservatives and Reform are impossible to take seriously on this issue. It was the failed Conservatives that opened hundreds of asylum hotels across the country by allowing record breaking delays in asylum claims to build up. Their flawed approach 'squandered billions' according to the Homes Affairs select committee.
"Reform has no solutions to this problem. Their priority is to axe the rights of tens of thousands of people who are legally resident in this country to stay here, including those currently working in our care homes, hospitals, and hospitality industry. Their cruel and ineffective policies would only harm the country, the economy, and the people they target."
On Monday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “frustrated and angry” as he sought to blame the previous government for leaving a “huge mess” in the asylum system by failing to process people’s claims.
Wealden District councillor Ann Newton, speaking on behalf of her fellow Tory councillors, said they were also "very concerned by news of the government’s decision".
They are calling for an emergency council meeting to discuss the proposals.
She said: “I have written to the Wealden Alliance District Council leader, James Partridge. a Liberal Democrat, demanding urgent clarification around a number of points.
"We want a better understanding of numbers and the timeframe of their stay.
"We want to know how they will be supervised and policed given issues that have arisen elsewhere.
"We want to know what impact assessment if any has been conducted to understand the consequences for already stretched local services.
"We want to know why district councillors have been kept in the dark, only learning about this now."
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