Locals have raised over £70,000 to fund a legal challenge against the “completely inappropriate and inhumane” plans.
Locals have mounted fierce protests against the ‘inhumane’ plans (Image: Getty Images)
Hundreds of male asylum seekers could begin arriving in a small East Sussex village in a matter of weeks, despite angry protests from locals. Furious residents have taken to the streets of Crowborough for six successive weekends in coordinated action against plans to move over 500 migrants into the town’s army barracks. Newly arrived asylum seekers could be housed at Crowborough Training Camp as part of the Government’s bid to close asylum hotels. The site, which has a capacity for 540 men, has been offered to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence for a period of 12 months.
The first group of migrants could arrive in East Sussex as soon as January, despite concerns around the village’s capacity to meet the infrastructural needs of hundreds of new arrivals, who will mainly be single men aged between 18 and 65. The Home Office initially planned to begin moving asylum seekers into the base in December, according to The Guardian, but delayed the plans to ensure the suitability of the site and avoid a fiasco resembling that of the Bibby Stockholm barge, which had to be evacuated after a Legionella outbreak in 2023.
Hundreds of migrants could begin arriving at the barracks next month. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Hundreds of protesters lined the streets of Crowborough on December 14, waving Union Jack and St George’s flags and chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “Crowborough says no!”
Demonstrators also carried placards reading: “Protect our women and girls”, “Not racist, just afraid” and “Stop the madness, stop the boats”.
A group of locals have raised over £70,000 to lodge a judicial review against the Government’s decision to house migrants at the barracks, with “parents, grandparents, veterans, volunteers and local business owners” warning of the “completely inappropriate and inhumane” move.
Wealden District Council also described the lack of community engagement regarding the plans as “appalling” and stated that it would “challenge any decision to use the camp if it is legally possible to do so”.
Residents have raised tens of thousands of pounds to fight the plans. (Image: Sean Aidan/LNP)
“As part of our challenge to the Home Office, we have already served a planning contravention notice on them,” a spokesperson added.
While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to stop the use of hotels by asylum seekers before the next general election, the number of migrant occupants has continued to climb, with 36,273 people awaiting a decision on their asylum claims from rented accommodation in September.
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.
“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across government so we can accelerate delivery.”
