“Unacceptable ”: Council Leader Makes His Feelings Clear Over Plans to Move Asylum Seekers Into an Area He Believes They Should Never Have Been Allowed to Enter

More than 1,000 asylum seekers are expected to be moved into a former RAF military base, sparking anger among local residents and opposition from a senior council leader.

Norfolk County Council leader David Bick has strongly criticised the Government’s plan to accommodate around 1,250 asylum seekers at a former RAF site near Barnham.

Bick joined local people who gathered outside RAF Barnham to protest against the plans. Speaking to GB News, he described the decision as “totally unacceptable” and said residents were worried about what the arrival of such a large number of people could mean for the local community.

The former RAF site is one of several ex-military locations being considered by the Government as it tries to reduce the number of asylum seekers living in hotels.

Thousands of asylum seekers have been placed in hotels while waiting for decisions on their claims, creating a large bill for taxpayers. The Government has said it wants to close asylum hotels and move people into cheaper, more basic accommodation.

The Barnham site is expected to house more than 1,000 men between the ages of 18 and 65. Another former military site in Piddington, Oxfordshire, is also being prepared to accommodate asylum seekers.

For people living near Barnham, the plans have raised concerns about the size of the proposed accommodation and its location close to existing communities.

Bick said one of his main concerns was the town of Thetford, which is only around two miles away from the former military base. He argued that because of the short distance, people living in Thetford could feel the impact of the plans more than other nearby communities.

The council leader said residents were particularly worried because the site is close to a community that already has schools, homes and other local services.

He also rejected the argument that asylum seekers have to be housed somewhere while their cases are being processed. Bick said the Government should instead focus on dealing with people who do not have the legal right to remain in the UK.

Bick also questioned why a large number of asylum seekers should be placed so close to a small and closely connected community. He said residents were already worried about how the plans could affect their everyday lives.

The Government has promised that security will be in place at the former military site. This is expected to include CCTV cameras and other security measures designed to monitor the site and help protect people living nearby.

However, Bick said the planned security arrangements had done little to calm local concerns. He argued that CCTV alone would not solve the worries being raised by residents.

He also claimed that asylum seekers living at such sites could still travel into nearby towns. According to Bick, some asylum seekers have previously been taken by bus into towns across Norfolk, meaning that security at the former base would not necessarily prevent them from travelling elsewhere.

The issue has created a wider debate about where asylum seekers should be housed while their applications are considered.

The Government says using former military bases will allow it to reduce its reliance on hotels, which have been costing taxpayers large amounts of money. Ministers have argued that basic accommodation at former military sites is a cheaper alternative.

The Home Office has defended the decision and said it is working to close all asylum hotels across the country.

A Home Office spokesperson said asylum seekers would be moved into basic accommodation, including former military sites, as part of the Government’s plan to reduce the cost of the asylum system.

The Home Office also said the number of asylum seekers staying in hotels has already fallen significantly. It said the figure has dropped by 35 per cent over the past year and by 63 per cent compared with the highest level reached under the previous Government.

The department added that the overall cost of supporting asylum seekers has fallen by almost £1 billion since the current Government came into power.

Despite the Government’s explanation, opposition to the Barnham plans remains strong among some local residents and politicians. Critics argue that communities should have more say in decisions that could bring more than 1,000 people into their area.

Supporters of the Government’s approach, however, say the country needs to find cheaper accommodation while asylum claims are being processed and that former military sites can provide a practical alternative to expensive hotels.

The dispute over RAF Barnham is therefore likely to continue, with local residents demanding more information about the plans, while the Government insists that moving asylum seekers out of hotels is necessary to reduce costs and change the way the asylum system operates.