Wealden District Council seeks advice on legal options following proposal to use Crowborough Army Camp site for asylum accommodation

A WDC spokesperson told this newspaper on Wednesday, November 12: “We have already written to the Home Office Minister to strongly object to these plans. We engaged the services of a leading King’s Counsel (a barrister) at the end of October to advise the council on all legal options available to us to challenge the decisions of the Home Office.”

WDC said this had been communicated to Sussex Weald MP Nusrat Ghani in a letter to her on November 4.

The spokesperson said: “We are working at pace to hold the Home Office to account for and on behalf of our residents.”

WDC sent this statement to the Sussex Express before a special meeting at Crowborough Community Centre on Thursday, November 13 (7.30pm). This meeting for Crowborough residents (also available to watch online) was organised by Crowborough Town Council and WDC so attendees could hear from the Home Office on the proposed use for the army camp site.

Updates on the Crowborough Army Camp proposal are available at www.wealden.gov.uk/crowborough-army-camp.

MP Nusrat Ghani announced this week that she had also held two large community meetings on Monday, November 10, with more than 500 residents attending to hear directly from Home Office officials and Wealden District Council. Ms Ghani said she questioned officials on key issues about the safety, legality and compliance of using the site. She also showed how other councils have used their planning legal powers to challenge the Home Office.

Ms Ghani praised residents for their ‘calm engagement’ and said she would continue to work with the council to support legal action.

She said “Crowborough residents did us proud, raising legitimate concerns over Wealden District Council’s and the Home Office’s lack of transparency of what is planned for Crowborough. Due to my persistent pressure, the Home Office attended their first public meeting, but left us asking more worrying questions, which should have been raised by councillors at a much earlier stage.”

She said: “I look forward to seeing evidence of what legal action and legal advice will be implemented. There is no time to waste, and every councillor now needs to be across the detail and standing up for Crowborough.”

WDC’s update on its website from November 10 confirmed that a Scrutiny and Performance meeting was held at the council, which welcomed the Home Office, Wealden councillors and Sussex Police. People can watch the meeting at council.wealden.gov.uk. The council also confirmed a second meeting was held in the evening and hosted by Ms Ghani. It was attended by the Leader of the Council, Councillor James Partridge, Deputy Leader of the Council Councillor Rachel Millward and Lead Councillor for Planning and Environment Councillor Ian Tysh.

The council’s November 10 update said: “The council still believe it is the wrong solution to use Crowborough Army Camp to house asylum seekers and are continuing to fight it. The Home Office has apologised for its poor communication.”