Migrants are set to move into a converted army barracks within weeks, as Downing Street said it could not promise Channel crossings would fall next year.
Despite threats of legal action and protests from local residents, the government intends to use Crowborough army training camp in East Sussex to house 540 male asylum seekers as it attempts to end the use of expensive hotel accommodation.
Crowborough training camp
JAMES MANNING/PA
No 10 said on Monday that there was “no single measure, no silver bullet, to a global problem that governments across Europe have been battling to take control of”. The prime minister’s spokesman said the government had “moved away from gimmicks and failed policies” and was “taking serious, practical action with partners to secure our borders, break the gangs’ business model and fix a system that was left paralysed”.
More than 41,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year after a flurry of crossings over the weekend. Some 803 people made the journey in 13 dinghies from northern France, starting overnight on Friday and into Saturday. Asked if there would be a drop in the number of crossings next year, the prime minister’s spokesman said: “We’re taking a range of measures to drive down the numbers and tackle small boat crossings, and those will continue.”
Migrants preparing to cross the English Channel from Gravelines beach near to Dunkirk in northern France
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILLS
He said the site at Crowborough and other former military bases were an “important part of tackling illegal migration”. The spokesman added: “We are continuing to accelerate plans to move people into Crowborough when the sites are fully operational and safe, but we won’t replicate the mistakes of the past, where rushed plans have led to unsafe and chaotic situations that impact the local communities, and we’re working closely with the local authority to mitigate any local concerns.”
Crowborough residents and the local district council have opposed the site’s use. Residents have said local services would be unable to cope with the influx of people, youth cadets who use the site already would be displaced and asylum seekers could be “traumatised” by the sound of gunfire from nearby shooting ranges.
Crowborough Shield, a local campaign group, has raised more than £70,000 to oppose the use of the site with a challenge in the High Court. The group’s lawyers said the government had acted unlawfully “by advancing the project without planning permission, community consultation or due consideration of the site’s proximity to the Ashdown Forest Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation”.
Kim Bailey, the group’s director, said the plans were causing “fear and uncertainty” in the town. She said: “It feels as though the government doesn’t think we matter. The barracks site is unsuitable for housing asylum seekers, many of whom will have fled conflict and trauma, and its location beside the Ashdown Forest risks significant environmental harm.”
A veteran from the Parachute Regiment delivers a speech during the protest in Crowborough
BEN MONTGOMERY/GETTY IMAGES
Wealden district council has written to the government to request more information, including whether the plans comply with housing law. In the letter sent last week the leader of Wealden council, James Partridge, and the deputy leader, Rachel Millward, said: “With Christmas fast approaching we have very significant concerns around the potential for your decision and possible use of the site to take place at a time when the focus of the local community should be on coming together and having peaceful family time.”
The Home Office said the government was “furious” at the level of illegal migration and use of 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,” it said.
“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across government so that we can accelerate delivery.”