Rumours that a disused prison in Kent is about to be used to house asylum seekers are false, the Home Office has confirmed.
A story has been circulating on social media for the past week that the former Blantyre House open prison near Goudhurst in the Weald was about to be used to house 600 asylum seekers, despite the prison only having accommodation for 120 inmates when it was operative.
Blantyre HouseThe prison lies empty
Now, following inquiries from KentOnline, the Home Office has quashed the rumours.
A spokesman said: “We’re not using Blantyre House for asylum seekers nor do we have any plans to do so.”
Blantyre House was a Category D resettlement prison for male prisoners. It closed in January 2016 “for refurbishment work” and never reopened.
Blantyre House started out as a Fegan’s Home, where disadvantaged boys learned skills to set them up in the world.
The site was sold to the prison service in 1954, which initially used it as a detention centre for young offenders.
In memory of Blantyre House’s origins as a Fegan Home
Set in an isolated location at Horden, on the outskirts of Goudhurst, even today, many people don’t even know of the prison’s existence.
From 1987, it was used as a semi-open resettlement prison, for serious offenders coming to the end of their sentences, and many prisoners were let out on day release to work in the local community as part of the policy or preparing them to reintegrate with society on their release.
There has been repeated speculation on social media that the government was about to house asylum seekers there as part of its plan to get them out of hotels.
With one poster even claiming to have heard the announcement on BBC news.
Blantyre House: Too expensive to bring back into use
It is possible that confusion arose between Blantyre House and the Crowborough Army base, 22 miles away in East Sussex, which the government has recently announced will be used to house up to 600 asylum seekers.
The question remains what is to happen to Blantyre House, which is gradually falling into even greater disrepair.
A spokesmn for the Ministry of Justice said: “The former HMP Blantyre House is dilapidated and insecure. It would cost taxpayers a disproportionate amount of money to bring it back into service for only 120 places.
“We’re building 14,000 additional modern prison places through the expansion of the existing estate and the construction of four new prisons.”