Hundreds of Crowborough locals marched through the town on Sunday morning in protest at the Government’s plan to house 600 asylum seekers in an abandoned military complex nearby
Furious residents have marched through the streets of Crowborough, East Sussex, reportedly chanting “Starmer out”, over plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers in a disused army training camp.
The Government opted to use former military sites and pop-up cabins to house asylum seekers after far-right activists demanded an end to using hotels. Now, locals are still furious despite a pledge to cut down on asylum seeker hotels, proving that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is facing an unwinnable battle after 14 years of Tory chaos.
Crowborough residents claimed they’ve ‘installed panic alarms’ in their homes after the plan was revealed to use the military training camp, which on the outskirts of town. They paraded down the main high street with banners reading “#ProtectOurElderly”, “Protect our children”, and “Our Children’s freedom gone, so they can have their’s”.
The Home Office’s director of asylum accommodation apologised for failing to provide enough detail on the Crowborough plans earlier this week. At a meeting in the village on Monday, Andrew Larter told concerned locals and councillors that housing asylum seekers at the site would cost roughly the same as hotels, but said the accommodation would be “more spartan” and “less comfortable”.
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He added the camp – with capacity for about 540 people – would be “as self-contained as possible”, including health and recreational facilities. He said ministers were in the process of completing a community impact assessment to make sure the site was “safe, legal and compliant”.
Worries were raised about staffing at the camp, police provision, the additional strain on public services and public safety. Last week hundreds of people waving flags and armed with placards attended a protest against the plans, and Wealden District Council said it was considering legal options.
Campaigners previously raised concerns about safety on the site. Conversation Over Borders, which works with refugees and asylum seekers, warned housing people at the military base risked “human rights failures” and could “waste taxpayers’ money,” adding: “Everyone seeking safety deserves a place to call home without being isolated or retraumatised.” Steve Smith, of Care4Calais, said: “From my point of view, shovelling people into former barracks is not the best use of money and for those seeking asylum.”
Meanwhile, a Crowborough grassroots organisation claimed it’s confident the plan to use the disused military site wouldn’t go ahead, after speaking to its legal team. Chair Kim Bailey told MailOnline: “The strength of feeling is just incredible. Their whole plan is wrong.
“It’s absurd what they are doing. Vulnerable men from war-torn countries… to Crowborough? These are unvetted men, we don’t know who they are. This is a very rural area, surrounded by tree and forest. If crimes were to happen, they are going to go unheard.”
She later reportedly told the crowd of protesters that Crowborough was “setting the stage for what’s to come”.
Ms Bailey said: “This is our town. We are real people, we are just residents who have never done anything like this before. We need to stand together.”
Concerns had also been raised about the site’s proximity to a Sussex Police firearms test centre. It’s 1.2 miles away from the Kingstanding training centre, which activists claimed was used for firearms, Taser, and police dog drills.
Nicola David of One Life to Live, who campaigns against large-scale containment sites for asylum seekers, said: “Any sounds of shooting would be audible from Crowborough Training Camp – this is highly likely to be retraumatising for asylum-seekers fleeing war, conflict and persecution. Part of the dog training is seeking out explosives. It is not known whether this might ever involve detonations – again, that would be retraumatising.”
Tim Naor Hilton, Chief Executive of Refugee Action, added: “Large military camps are never safe or appropriate accommodation sites for people seeking safety. In their recent report, the Home Affairs Committee has warned the government of high risk of suicide and harm in these sites.
“People’s proximity to audible explosions will inevitably increase this harm and retraumatise those who have escaped persecution and conflict. The government must stop wasting time and money on knee-jerk ideas for refugees and focus on fixing a national housing emergency that affects all people in our towns. We need a long-term plan to invest in communities to build and buy more social homes, and properly fund councils to deliver housing for all people in need, including people seeking asylum.”
The Home Office previously said military sites would deliver better outcomes for taxpayers and reduce the impact on communities. Labour has pledged to stop using hotels before the next election.
A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Kingstanding is a police training site used by Sussex and Surrey police forces as well as a number of other agencies. For operational reasons, we are not able to provide any further information regarding the site.”