A Reform UK-led council plans to spend £150,000 on private security guards in three of its town and city centres following concerns about “gatherings of asylum seekers”.
Essex County Council says security staff will be deployed in Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford for an initial three-month trial.
The council says the guards will provide a visible presence, deter anti-social behaviour and help reassure residents.
However, council papers acknowledge the security staff will have no more powers than members of the public and that any law enforcement action will remain the responsibility of Essex Police.
The plans follow a government decision to increase the number of asylum seekers housed at the former RAF Wethersfield site in Essex.
Aerial shots of Wethersfield airbase in Braintree.
Ministers want to provide up to 1,245 bed spaces at the site, up from a previous cap of 800, as part of efforts to reduce the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.
Some people staying at Wethersfield, which has been operational since 2023, are transported by minibus to nearby towns and cities.
The view from one of the bedrooms at Wethersfield Airfield asylum centre. Credit: Pool
Essex County Council says there is “anecdotal evidence” that the presence of groups of asylum seekers has caused some residents to feel concerned about crime and community safety.
However, the Home Office says there is no evidence that people staying at Wethersfield have caused an increase in offending in nearby town centres.
Council leader Peter Harris said concerns were particularly being raised by women and girls and claimed the induction process for people arriving at the site was “woefully inadequate”.
A number of protests have taken place in recent years with locals unhappy at the former RAF base being used to house asylum seekers.
The Braintree and Wethersfield Protest group staged a demonstration in January Credit: ITV News Anglia
He said: “Concerns for community safety are clearly there, particularly among women and girls, because of the daily gatherings of asylum seekers – gatherings which will increase in number and size as the facility expands.”
Mr Harris also questioned whether daily trips from Wethersfield into nearby towns and cities were necessary.
The council says it is now in the process of appointing a security company.
Its decision paper says the guards could also provide intelligence to local authorities, but must not interfere with anyone carrying out lawful activities.
The three-month trial is expected to cost £150,000 from a community improvement fund. Further funding would be needed if the scheme continued beyond the trial.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats have criticised the plans.
Chelmsford Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman said the money should instead be spent supporting Essex Police.
She said: “Instead of stoking division in our community and handing over wads of taxpayer cash to a private security company, Reform UK should be giving the much needed resource to our local police force who are fully trained and have the power to enforce the law.”
A Labour spokesperson described the proposal as a “headline-grabbing scheme” and said residents deserved proper neighbourhood policing rather than what it called “political theatre”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites.
“We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities.
“And we are reducing the burden on taxpayers, with asylum costs down by over £1 billion since the general election.”
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