Local councillors have launched a legal bid in the hopes to stop the Home Office housing 600 asylum seekers in an East Sussex army camp.
Yesterday (November 21), Wealden District Council served a Planning Contravention Notice asking the Home Office for details about their plans.
Residents of Crowborough have been demonstrating and campaigning since the plans to house 600 lone male asylum seekers at an army camp in the town were announced in October.
In a statement, Wealden District Council said they were asking the Home Office to show what building works are going on and are planned for the camp, to establish if they are lawful.
A spokesperson said the contravention notice was served on Friday afternoon.
It said: "This is to obtain detailed information about what building works are happening now and what is planned for Crowborough Training Camp and to understand, from the Home Office, the basis on which they deem the works to be lawful.
"This will help to identify whether there are any grounds for challenge in relation to planning law or more generally."
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The planning authority could issue a stop notice after it has inspected the Home Office plans.
"By law, planning enforcement powers, such as Stop Notices and Enforcement Notices can only be used after there has been a breach of planning control, not pre-emptively in the way that is being suggested by some parties," the council said.
Crowborough is one of two sites identified by the Home Office as suitable for around 1000 migrants in total.
It comes as a third weekend of protest against the plans is set to take place this Sunday (November 23).
Kim Bailey, chair of Crowborough Shield said: "Crowborough Shield welcomes the decision of Wealden District Council to finally take practical steps to hold the Home Office to account over these proposals.
"It is regrettable that Crowborough Shield and local people had to go to such lengths to compel WDC to do anything at all by way of challenging the Government.
"WDC are finally executing on a strategy that we provided them with.
"We are continuing to prepare our legal case as we expect the Home Office to ignore or dispute WDC's notice.
"The Home Secretary has acted in bad faith throughout this process and sadly we do not anticipate that she will change her approach without the intervention of the Courts."
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