Britons are outraged by the housing of asylum seekers at a former military base, whilst the Home Office describes it as a key element of its policy.
In the village of Barnham, local residents are voicing their concerns over the settlement of refugees at a former military base. Outrage erupted following government plans to house 1,250 refugees at a former military base on the Suffolk-Norfolk border. They say there are only 580 of them, whilst the village is renowned for its thatched cottages and the fact that it does not even have a local pub or shop.
A sharp increase in men of foreign origin could literally triple the local population in no time at all. Local residents are forecasting a fall in property values and raising the alarm about security threats to vulnerable groups, as well as the risk of rising crime.
The news has led to local protests against the proposal, with residents criticising both the proposal itself and the lack of consultation with the community. On Sunday, around 500 demonstrators gathered at the camp’s main gate carrying national flags; some had even travelled from Essex to take part in the protest.
They point to a critical lack of infrastructure to cater for the growing population and fear a fall in property values, having recently invested heavily in the area. Business owners doubt the viability of the government’s scheme, whilst residents are frankly afraid of living next to a camp housing hundreds of unvetted young men. People see a particular danger in the fact that the site is in the immediate vicinity of local schools and nurseries, which, in their view, jeopardises children’s safety.
Local service personnel living in the area were “petrified” by the prospect, but had been ordered not to speak publicly on the matter, said a business owner.
In the meantime, the British government emphasises that disused military bases represent a future option for accommodating refugees. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, speaking before the House of Lords Committee on Justice and Home Affairs, stated that repurposing former military sites would become a key part of the long-term strategy for accommodating asylum seekers.
“We see military bases as the future for asylum accommodation. We believe this can have a more positive impact on the ability to concentrate services on a single site than other models of accommodation provision,” she stated.
As part of the government’s programme to phase out the use of hotels for accommodating migrants until the next general election, the Home Office has sought permission to convert three former military bases. These sites will be able to accommodate up to 3,750 asylum seekers. In addition, ministers intend to increase the capacity of two existing Ministry of Defence complexes, which will create a further 1,750 places.
Furthermore, the latest figures from the Home Office have shown that migrant workers are flouting the restrictions, with up to 15 family members accompanying each worker. In total, 4,062 workers and 20,831 family members were recorded for this group of countries.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told The Times: “It is an abuse of the system. Social care workers already here should not be able to receive new visas for new dependants. We have seen hundreds of thousands of dependants of care workers come here, more than the number of actual care workers, and this must now urgently stop.”
