Thousands of asylum seekers to be housed at former military bases

Residents near one of the bases said they ‘don't feel secure’ and feel they are ‘nothing’ to the Government.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has confirmed plans to house ‘several thousand’ asylum seekers at former military bases.

The refugees are set to be housed in bases in Essex and Lincolnshire and a separate site in East Sussex.

It comes after controversial plans to house asylum seekers in unused cruise ships and ‘barges’ were leaked this morning, but these weren’t spoken about in the Commons.

RAF Scampton, home of the Dambusters during the Second World War, in Lincolnshire will be used, alongside with MDP Wethersfield in Braintree.

Government sources said each site will have the capacity to house 1,500-2,000 migrants, and initially are more likely to be used for new arrivals rather than to rehouse people currently in hotels.

It comes as the UK says it is spending £6.2m a day on hotels for asylum seekers, housing more than 51,000 people at 400 hotels across the country.

Robert Jenrick said: ‘Today the Government is announcing the first tranche of sites we will set up to provide basic accommodation at scale.

‘The Government will use military sites being disposed of in Essex and Lincolnshire, and a separate site in East Sussex.

‘These will be scaled up over the coming months and will collectively provide accommodation to several thousands asylum seekers through repurposed barrack blocks and portacabins.’

The immigration minister insisted that ‘these sites on their own will not end the use of hotels overnight’.

He added: ‘But alongside local dispersal and other forms of accommodation, which we will bring forward in due course, they will relieve pressure on our communities and they will manage asylum seekers in a more appropriate and cost-effective way.’

Mr Jenrick also sought to provide MPs with assurances about the sites’ impact on local services, saying: ‘We are acutely aware of the need to minimise the impact of these sites on communities.

‘Basic healthcare will be available, around-the-clock security will be provided on site, and our providers will work closely with local police and other partners. Funding will be provided to local authorities in which these sites are located.’

Some residents near RAF Scampton have already raised concerns about the housing of Migrants.

Residents said they ‘don’t feel secure’ and feel they are ‘nothing’ to the Government.

Homeowners who live in former military housing, say they have received ‘absolutely jack-sh**’ by way of communication from the Government about its plans to house migrants on the site.

Around 700 people already live in homes bordering RAF Scampton, which was previously home to the Red Arrows and the Dambusters 617 squadron in the Second World War, and they said on Wednesday they worry their limited local amenities will be overwhelmed if the plans go ahead.

Speaking prior to the expected announcement on Wednesday, Rachel Green, a resident on the site for 22 years, said: ‘My main concern is security. We’ve got a lot of young families here with lots of children about.

‘The fence is not secure, and even if the fence was secure, it is said they’ll be able to roam free and this is where they’ll come because it’s 100 yards out of the front entrance from the camp to the housing estate. We don’t feel secure.’

Sir Edward Leigh and Karl McCartney, MPs for Gainsborough and Lincoln respectively, have both previously voiced opposition to the plans, which have been described as ‘grossly inadequate’ by refugee charities.

There are also concerns that the site is unsuitable for a sudden influx of new arrivals, with the base situated next to a busy carriageway, the A15, and being cut off from public transport other than a limited bus service.

Lyn Webb, another resident, said the Government are ‘not bothered’ about local residents, who have had to organise community groups and petitions to raise their concerns.

She said: ‘We’ve heard absolutely jack-shit.

‘We’ve had no communication whatsoever. Nothing from the Home Office, nothing from any MPs, even (Sir) Edward Leigh.

‘None of them want come and see where we live. None of them want to come and see how close it’s going to be, they just want to look at pictures, they’re really not bothered, we’re a nothing.

‘It makes me feel awful. A lot of us have been here for over 20 years in a safe, secure environment, and all of a sudden that is going to be taken away.’

The number of migrants to be housed at the site, and the type of accommodation in which they will be contained, has not yet been confirmed.

Samantha Taylor-Eggleson, a resident on the site for 23 years who has raised four children next to the base, said: ‘I’ve now got a seven-year-old as well and he won’t be allowed out if this goes ahead. I am extremely worried.

‘Nearly 2,000 men will be here and not all of them are going to be saints. They’re going to be bored. They’re going to be hot in the summer and they’re going to be frozen in the winter.

‘We have an extremely small shop and a diabolical bus service.

‘There is nothing for them here at all, and we will feel the brunt of it because we are a six-foot fence away.’

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