Hundreds of residents in East Sussex gathered on Sunday to voice strong opposition to government plans to house asylum seekers at a military training site near Crowborough. The protest comes amid rising local concern over the Home Office proposal to place up to 540 single, male asylum seekers at the Army’s Pippingford Park training camp for around 12 months. The move is part of a wider government strategy to close asylum hotels and shift people into large-scale, temporary accommodation sites.
Wealden District Council formally opposed the plan last week, passing a motion against the proposal and issuing a planning contravention notice to the Home Office. The notice seeks to determine whether the government’s use of the military site breaches planning rules. However, the council said enforcement powers cannot be exercised until a breach has actually taken place, leaving local officials limited in the immediate steps they can take. The Home Office said it is continuing discussions with councils and community groups to address concerns raised by residents.
Protesters Say Concerns Are About Local Impact, Not National Politics
Sunday’s march drew national campaign groups as well as local residents who insisted their involvement was not driven by wider political agendas. Many attendees wore individual numbers to symbolise the number of asylum seekers expected at the camp and chanted “Crowborough says no” and “protect our community”. Protester Ken Adams, a Crowborough resident, said he believed the government had mishandled the situation for years and that the decision to use the military site was “ill-advised”.
Police Presence but No Disorder
Sussex Police said officers were deployed to keep disruption to a minimum and confirmed that no arrests were made. The previous protest in the town also ended without any detentions. Local campaigners stated that further demonstrations may be organised if the government presses ahead with the plan.
The government announced in October that several military bases across England would be repurposed to reduce reliance on hotels, which have cost more than £8 million a day nationally. Similar proposals in Essex, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire have also triggered legal challenges and community opposition over concerns related to planning rules, local infrastructure, and the suitability of remote military facilities for housing vulnerable people. Ministers say the measures are essential to cut costs and speed up asylum processing, but councils across the UK argue that large-scale sites risk placing unsustainable pressure on rural communities.
