RAF Barnham set to house asylum seekers
Barnham is one of three military sites where the government is seeking planning permission to house migrants
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed it is planning to use one of its bases on the Norfolk border to house asylum seekers.
The government has named RAF Barnham as one of three military sites where it is seeking planning permission to house migrants.
The admission follows weeks of speculation, and silence from officials, after locals reported a surge in activity at the Suffolk base, which is near Thetford in Norfolk.
They described blacked-out buses driving in and out, a perimeter fence reinstated and topped with barbed wire, and vehicles visiting a long-decommissioned waste facility next to the site.
When pressed earlier this month, the government would neither confirm nor deny the plans, prompting local politicians to demand transparency.
The announcement has now already triggered a backlash from one of the government’s own MPs.
Terry Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, which covers Thetford, said he was “very concerned” and would be “strongly objecting” to the plans.
RAF Barnham was used to store Britain’s first nuclear weapons during the Cold War, but in recent years has been used for police training, including riot simulations and dog handling.
The base is one of three the government has announced, alongside MoD Bicester and MoD Linton-on-Ouse, which it said would eventually house up to 3,750 migrants between them. It is not known what proportion would be housed at Barnham.
Alex Norris, the minister for border security and asylum, said: “We promised to close every asylum hotel and hand them back to communities. That is exactly what we are doing here in the east of England.
“Twenty more hotels are now closed across England, hotel numbers have more than halved since their peak, and we are moving people into large, basic sites that are a far cry from the hotels the last government left us with.
“This is a system being brought back under control – and we will not stop until the job is done.”
The government said the move was “restoring order to the asylum system”.
However, the plans for Barnham have prompted a negative reaction from Mr Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk.
While the base sits just outside his constituency, on the Suffolk side, his seat covers neighbouring Thetford.
He said: “I am very concerned that RAF Barnham is being considered as a temporary site to house asylum seekers.
“This announcement has been shared with members of parliament only in the last 24 hours.
“Though the site is located outside of my South West Norfolk constituency, I immediately made my concerns known to the Minister and asked that the views of the wider community and other local elected officials are taken on board as part of the forthcoming feasibility study, which will assess the risks and practicality of using the military site in this capacity.”
He added: “In this decision-making process about the use of RAF Barnham however, we must consider the views of the local community, and that these sites are appropriately located and can ensure community cohesion.
“I am not convinced these concerns have been properly considered and I will therefore be strongly objecting to the potential use of RAF Barnham for this purpose.”
The MP has previously said he “supported the principle” of using military accommodation for asylum seekers, but warned that other sites within his constituency, such as West Tofts, were not appropriate
The move comes as the Home Office presses ahead with closing asylum hotels across the country.
Earlier this year it shut the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, which had sparked months of protests over its use to house asylum seekers and was one of around 200 hotels closed in recent months.
Before any migrants can move in, the government would normally need to secure change-of-use planning permission from West Suffolk Council, which covers the base.
However, it has bypassed the usual local planning process at other military sites in the past, where it has used emergency powers to force through plans.
It remains unclear which route it intends to take at Barnham.