MP plans legal challenge over 'wholly inappropriate' asylum site

The Crowborough Training Camp in East Sussex has been identified as a site to accommodate around 600 asylum seekers from next month - but the Conservative MP for Sussex Weald says the site is “wholly inappropriate”.

Nusrat Ghani told LBC she was “furious” to learn about the plans through media reports rather than from the government or her local council and exclusively told us she’s already started making steps towards a legal challenge.

“I woke up to find the news splashed across the front of a newspaper. No one - not me as the MP, not local councillors, not the town council - had been consulted. That tells you how angry I am.”

Ms Ghani said the site had previously been rejected by the Home Office on “multiple" occasions and warned it “physically won’t work” because it lacks infrastructure, healthcare access, and security - sitting on the edge of a public forest near residential areas.

“It’s not a contained site in a very rural constituency. It has very limited facilities and will require a huge amount of infrastructure to manage people, and it’s already used by cadets and training personnel.

“We don’t have a processing centre nearby so people will have to be bused in and out which will have an impact on traffic and the environment.

“It’s simply not secure, the buildings aren’t appropriate and there’s no access to services - so much will be need to be invested to get it ready.”

She also questioned whether converting the camp into accommodation would save the government any money, claiming the cost per person per night could exceed that of hotel use once infrastructure and staffing costs are added.

Ms Ghani said that while her constituents understand the national need to house asylum seekers, they are concerned about pressure on local GP and dental services and the lack of transparency from decision-makers.

“Crowborough has done its part - we’ve taken in Ukrainian and Afghan families. But this has to be done transparently, with the community’s support. Right now, that trust has been completely broken,” she said.

She confirmed to LBC she is now exploring legal options before asylum seekers are moved in next month.

“The only authority that can formally object is the council, and at the moment they’ve chosen not to. I’m taking legal advice to see what can be done.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are furious at the level of illegal migrants and asylum hotels.

“This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities.

“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery.”