Second village weighs up holding Piddington-style referendum
Some members from the Suffolk village will visit Piddington
Last updated 13 hours ago
A second village is considering holding a Piddington-style independence referendum over a controversial proposal to house asylum seekers on an RAF base.
The people of Piddington, Oxfordshire, last week voted to secede from the UK after the Government announced plans to house 1,256 male asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.
The symbolic poll drew widespread media attention and also caught the attention of some in Barnham, Suffolk, where RAF Barnham has been identified as a possible asylum accommodation site.
John Bauer, chairman of Barnham Parish Council, said a “small group” would travel to Piddington on Tuesday evening to meet campaigners there.
“It’s really a fact-finding mission I guess to find out a bit more about exactly what they’ve done, how effective it’s all been and whether that’s something we would want to do in Barnham,” he said.
“My personal view… is I think it is worth doing.
“Piddington have certainly raised their profile immensely for a village which is even smaller than ours.”
He said that at the last census around 580 people were recorded as living in Barnham.
“Why is Barnham not suitable (for the proposed asylum accommodation)? Where do you want me to begin?” he said.
“1,250 single men being accommodated next to a village of less than 600 – the numbers themselves, I mean it’s so disproportionate.
“It’s not like they would be contained within the site, they’re not restricted.”