Plans for asylum seekers at RAF Barnham near Thetford cut to 931 people
A fresh application has been lodged after the original bid for 1,250 people was withdrawn
Plans to house asylum seekers at a military base on the Norfolk border have been scaled back by the Home Office.
The government has withdrawn its original proposal to house 1,250 people at RAF Barnham, near Thetford.
It has lodged a fresh application to move as many as 931 asylum seekers into the base, a cut of more than a quarter.
The original bid was withdrawn on 13th October, with the new one submitted the next day.
The Home Office said the new application reflected an amended layout following its ongoing assessment of the site.
Under the plans, existing buildings at the base would be converted and modular units brought in.
There would also be healthcare, welfare and staff facilities.
Those moved into the base would all be male, and would be free to come and go.
No final decision has been made.
The government has previously stated its intention to begin moving the first asylum seekers in before Christmas.
RAF Barnham is a former munitions and nuclear weapons store that would need major upgrades to its sewerage and utilities.
The EDP reported earlier this month that the site has only 320 bed spaces, and that many of the existing units are in disrepair.
That means more than 600 beds would still need to be created.
Costs are reported to have already run into the millions, with public money spent on surveys, assessments and renovation work before any decision has been made.
Home Office officials privately told councillors the original figure of 1,250 was an illustration, and that the final number could be a lot more.
Like the previous bid, the new plans have been submitted under the Urgent Crown Development route.
It is a fast-track process that allows the government to bypass much of the usual local planning scrutiny.
The plans were first put forward in June.
The plans have faced opposition in the Suffolk village of Barnham and in nearby Thetford.
West Suffolk Council, Norfolk County Council and Breckland Council have all opposed the plan.
Many people opposed to the plans are hoping protections for the stone curlew, a rare bird that nests around the site, could stop the application.
Protesters have regularly gathered outside the base's gates.
Villagers in Barnham have weighed up holding a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK, following Piddington, near MoD Bicester in Oxfordshire.
Disorder took place in Thetford in September, when migrants living in houses in multiple occupation were escorted from their homes by police.
MoD Bicester and MoD Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire are the two other military sites in the frame.
A Home Office spokesman said: "We continue to explore the use of MoD Barnham for asylum accommodation.
"The revised application reflects an amended layout linked to our ongoing assessment of the site.
"The government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1bn saved in costs since the election. This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites."