Questions from the attendees at the meeting organised by Reform UK centred around putting a stop to the scheme which would see around 600 men temporarily housed at Crowborough Training Camp.

Some 300 people were able to cram inside Crowborough Community Centre on Thursday while hundreds more had to remain outside.

Residents called for protests over the proposals and demanded answers from Wealden District Council.

Many could not fit inside the centre (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

Wealden District Council, Sussex NHS and East Sussex County Council have said they were notified confidentially, in a Teams call, by the Home Office on October 10 that it was considering the use of the Crowborough Training Camp as a site for transitional accommodation for asylum seekers from late November.

The first written communication, a Wealden District Council spokesman said, arrived on October 28 after the news had broken the previous night. The council said it is “pressing” the Home Office for more information on the plan.

There was anger that Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani did not attend Thursday’s meeting. Residents were told she had been invited.

Ms Ghani previously said she was “furious” about the plans and described them as “wholly inappropriate”. She has launched a petition in a bid to stop the scheme going ahead.

“The council has sat on their hands,” said Independent councillor Andrew Wilson, the only councillor to answer questions at the meeting.

“There is time to mount a challenge.”

Many questions also asked about how those being housed at the camp would be “vetted” and if police would be able to manage.

Cllr Wilson said he could not answer such questions. A section on Wealden District Council’s website where the Home Office answered questions said asylum seekers will arrive at the site “following checks against policing and immigration databases”.

Councillor Wilson (right) answered questions (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

“On arrival, they receive a briefing and orientation about the site and the local community, including sessions on anti-social behaviour and road safety,” the Home Office wrote.

The department added that a “a specialist and experienced provider of security services” is permanently on site.

“We have no idea who these people are,” one woman said at the meeting.

“Crowborough is a lovely place to live,” said another.

“If we let these people move in, we are going to be all over the news and we won’t be able to sell our houses.”

Those who asked why people were so against the plans were shouted down.

Wealden District Council said: “The decision to use the site was made by the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. The Home Office are the lead agency for resettlement. Wealden District Council was not involved in negotiation with the Home Office on the use of the site. The Home Office have indicated that the council has no direct role in supporting asylum seekers after their arrival.

Hundreds attended a public meeting about plans to use Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers (Image: Sussex News and Pictures)

“We and our local public sector partners have been pressing the Home Office for further details on their proposals and assurances that the necessary arrangements will be put in place to ensure that their proposals have as little impact on the community, in particular on community tensions, as soon as possible.  We continue to press them on this.”

The council’s website says a separate contractor will be appointed to run the site on behalf of the Home Office. They will be responsible for managing asylum seeker accommodation in a safe and secure manner.

The Home Office said it is expected to take until early 2026 for Crowborough to reach its planned operational capacity of 600 people.