The Home Office plans to home migrants at the camp have been branded ‘wrong’ and ‘absurd’ by furious locals.
Around 2,000 furious residents marched through the streets on Sunday (Image: /)
Thousands of people turned out for a protest against plans to house 600 migrants at an army camp on the edge of their town. The furious residents took to the streets and chanted “Starmer out” as they demand the plans to be axed.
Around 2,000 people attended the march in Crowborough, East Sussex, on Sunday (November 16). As well as chanting, they carried signs reading: “Protect our women and children,” “protect our elderly” and “protect our town”. It comes after local politicians were chased out of the community centre hall following a public meeting on Thursday night (November 13).
Locals claim to have already installed panic alarms in their homes due to plans to house the lone male asylum seekers in Crowborough army training camp. A second protest is planned for next weekend with local independent councillor Andrew Wilson urging: “We all need to come out every weekend until we can turn this thing around.”
As reported by the Daily Mail, there are also concerns about GP waiting times in the town, with many locals already struggling to book appointments. They fear the situation will become worse if the 600 migrants are registered to practices in the area.
The Labour Government is reportedly planning a significant reform of its asylum policy by making refugee status temporary. The changes would see a refugee’s status reviewed every two-and-a-half years during a 20 year period before they can apply for permanent residency.
However, Kim Bailey, Chair of Crowborough Shield – a grassroots organisation which has challenged the Home Office – said the proposed changes will not make a difference in her town. She said: “20 years sounds reasonable, but it won’t make any difference to our current situation. It won’t make any difference to what happens here.”
The Home Office has earmarked the Crowborough army camp as a site to home 600 migrants (Image: Getty)
The organisation has raised over £12,000 to fund legal action so far. Ms Bailey said the “strength of feeling is just incredible” in Crowborough and has described the plan to house migrants in the army camp as “wrong” and “absurd”.
The town has a population of just over 20,000 and is located in a very rural area. Ms Bailey is concerned that if crimes were to take place then “they are going to go unheard”.
She also claimed that the Home Office has failed to do its “due dilligence on the site”, adding that there is absestos and the “water system is a health hazard”. She said: “These men are going to become a burden on the NHS and if they are deported, they are going to die a long, slow, horrible death from the asbestos.”
Although the Home Office said the site will be used to house migrants for a year, Ms Bailey does not believe this will be the case. She explained: “Why are they spending millions on it if it’s only going to be there for 12 months? How can they justify spending all that money if it’s only going to be used for 12 months.
“You can’t get planning permission to build a house because of the environmental impact and they are going to move 600 men in? It’s hypocrisy.”
