A plan to house asylum seekers at an Army camp in East Sussex has sparked protests among angry locals. The Home Office has been in talks to use the army training camp site in Crowborough to accommodate up to 600 people.
The camp would be used for a year as asylum accommodation before being returned to the Ministry of Defence. But locals have raised concerns over safety and pressure on services such as health.
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3,000 joined march, reports say
The organisers of the march have told the Daily Mail they estimate about 3,000 people joined today’s protest.
Sussex Police says no arrests after Crowborough protest
Sussex Police has said the planned peaceful protest took place in Crowborough on Sunday morning and officers worked to keep any disruption in the locality to a minimum while the event took place.
The force said there have been no arrests.
Protesters ‘doing the right thing’
UKIP leader Nick Tenconi has told protesters they were doing the right thing and it wasn’t too late to stop the plan.
He said his message was there was no time left and it was time to start mass deportations and remigration.
Mr Tenconi said “left wing fascism” is destroying Britain. He said voting, flag waving and community action are important.
“You should be absolutely disgusted at what the Government has done,” he added.
‘It will make a huge difference to our community’
Penny Saunders, 58, said she has lived in Crowborough her whole life.
The office administrator told GB News: “I haven’t marched before but I’m in total agreement with it. It will make a huge difference to our community.”
She added: “I’ve seen catastrophic changes already. Our local services can’t cope as it is.”
Previous government rejected Army camp idea, local MP says
Local MP Nusrat Ghani has said under the previous Conservative Government the Crowborough site was rejected outright as an option for housing migrants.
She said this was due to its layout, the difficulty in it being adapted and the extra costs that would be involved.
Ms Ghani said modifying the site would also put it in conflict with the local Council’s Crowborough National Landscape and planning policy.
The MP alleged on X that she and others didn’t have confidence in Wealden District Council’s decision-making and leadership in relation to the plan. The council is led by a Green-Lib Dem coalition.
Crowborough protest in pictures
The latest pictures from Crowborough show scores of protesters filing down a street and filling another road in the town.
A stream of protesters on their way through Crowborough (Image: PA Images)
Scores of protesters fill a street in the town (Image: PA Images)
Local council can’t halt the plan, deputy leader says
Wealden District Council’s Deputy Leader Rachel Millward has said previously that the local authority sought legal advice about the plan.
Ms Millward told the BBC councillors can’t halt the plan with their “usual planning powers” because the site is Crown land.
Protesters chant ‘Crowborough says no’
Protesters, some of whom are draped in Union and St George flags, are chanting “Crowborough says no”, “Whose streets? Our streets”, “Tell the nation – deportation” and “Keir Starmer’s a w*****”.
They have been marching from the town’s leisure centre and are expected to assemble at Chapel Green near the town centre.
UKIP leader Nick Tenconi has appeared at the head of the march, behind a banner which also reads “Crowborough says no”.
Nick Tenconi (centre) is on the march (Image: PA Images)
Cost of housing asylum seekers in excess of £100 per night
Mr Larter told a recent public meeting that housing asylum seekers at the camp will cost about the same as putting them up in hotels.
He said costs are expected to exceed £100 per person per night and any money required to make the site suitable for asylum seekers would be an added expense.
What are locals concerned about?
Residents are reportedly worried about pressure on GP services in the area.
The Home Office has said previously that anyone housed at the site will beed to be registered with local GP services, according to the BBC.
Andrew Larter, Director of Asylum Accommodation, said the Home Office expects to provide most primary care services at the camp.
Protesters on the march today have also carried placards which read “Protect our women and children”.
Sussex Police Chief Constable Jo Shiner is reported to have said that “reassurance patrols” have increased in Crowborough.
A sign during an anti-immigration protest near Crowborough training camp (Image: PA Images)
Crowborough protest in pictures
These are the latest pictures to come from the protest. They show some of the protesters holding up pieces of paper with numbers on. As mentioned below, some of those joining the protest are numbered to represent the number of asylum seekers expected to be housed at the army training camp.
Some protesters hold up numbers to represent the asylum seekers (Image: PA Images)
Protesters are marching through the town centre (Image: PA Images)
Local group ‘raises £30k’ to oppose site’s use by asylum seekers
A group set up to oppose the site’s use to house asylum seekers has reportedly raised £30,000 to oppose the plan in court.
GB News reports that the group, Crowborough Shield, has raised the sum. The group, which says it is made up of local residents, posted on its website that the money would also go towards measures which would ensure its success in stopping the Home Office’s plan going ahead.
The group said on Friday that it has retained leading King’s Counsel and is “progressing at pace” on several fronts to get its claim against the move ready.
What’s happening today?
Protesters are marching towards Crowborough’s town centre to oppose the Government’s plan to house hundreds of asylum seekers at the army training camp.
A group of protesters are bearing white sheets of paper numbered one to 600 in a bid to highlight the scale of the numbers set to be housed at the site.
Images show hundreds of protesters on the march through the Sussex town, waving St George and Union flags.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today’s protest in Crowborough. I’ll be bringing you updates throughout the protest.
