East Sussex proposed immigration centre site could be used for new homes

Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency that funds new affordable housing in the country, confirmed it is in talks with the Home Office to ‘explore the potential for alternative uses’ for the site.

The former Northeye prison in Bexhill was bought by the Home Office, under the previous Conservative government, in 2023 for £15.4 million to house asylum seekers.

But site surveys showed the derelict buildings on the site were contaminated with asbestos, rendering the facility unusable.

The Home Office was later criticised over its ‘disastrously managed acquisition’ of Northeye.

The Public Accounts Committee said the Home Office rushed to spend public money in trying to reduce the cost of supporting asylum seekers.

It added that it ‘ignored opportunities to properly understand the risks and costs’ of developing Northeye in Bexhill, which led to ‘poor value for money for the taxpayer’.

In December the Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer unveiled plans to build 1.5 million new homes in the UK by 2029.

A spokesperson for Homes England said: “We are working with the Home Office to explore the potential for alternative uses of the Northeye site and will update in due course, where appropriate, given commercial sensitivities.”

The initial plans to turn Northeye into an immigration centre for asylum seekers attracted widespread opposition from residents after they were first unveiled in March 2023.

Northeye was one of several sites chosen by the Home Office for accommodation centres for asylum seekers to be built.

Several protests were held in Bexhill, organised by the No to Northeye group.

In December last year, it was officially confirmed by the Home Office that the plan to convert Northeye into a centre for up to 1,200 asylum seekers would now not take place.