Previous statements
Below are links to all press releases and public letters issued by Wealden District Council in regards to the Crowborough Training Camp.
Please note this does not cover all public council communications regarding the site. We employ a variety of messaging means, including responses to media enquiries, social media and e-newsletters.
While the centre is run by a separate company, on behalf of the Home Office, Wealden District Council is one of several stakeholders with statutory duties in relation to the site and its community impact.
Home Office notifies council of its planned temporary use of Crowborough army camp for asylum accommodation centre
The Home Office has told Wealden District Council and other local service providers that it intends to use the Camp as a temporary asylum accommodation centre for up to 12 months from the end of November 2025.
The Home Office indicates that they intend to accommodate up to 600 single adults.
Wealden District Council understands that the aim is to utilise the site in order to help reduce the number of asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels.
Cllr James Partridge, who is leader of Wealden District Council and lives in Crowborough, said:
“I have written to the Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship to make it clear that local people will be rightly concerned about the effect which using Crowborough Camp as asylum accommodation will have on them and the wider area and to urge him to plan accordingly. I believe we should work with the Home Office to ensure their plans are as effective as possible and there is as little impact on the community as possible. We will continue to discuss the situation with other local service providers and to press the Home Office to make sure that the site runs well within our local community, as it did in 2023, when we welcomed people from Afghanistan”.
Dear Mike Tapp MP, Minister for Migration and Citizenship
Re: Use of Crowborough Army Training Centre (Crowborough Camp) as alternative asylum accommodation
As you will know, our council was informed on Friday 10 October that the Home Office intends to use Crowborough Camp as accommodation for up to 600 asylum seekers arriving in the UK by small boat.
Some local people will be concerned about the sudden addition of up to 600 people to the population without adequate activities and facilities, for the reasons set out below. Rumours have already spread and there are signs of community tension. We are therefore writing to set out our concerns, confirm our understanding of the proposals, and to ensure that we and all local partners are fully consulted as plans emerge.
We believe clear and transparent communication with the local community is vital, led by the Home Office, but in conjunction with us. We urge you to be proactive with your communication with the local community, not least to address the myths already circulating and the resulting rise in community tension. We are keen to work with you to inform our community and ensure that their questions are answered. Our communications team is available to work with your teams. Whilst we appreciate early sight of the plans, we urge you to move forward rapidly with public announcements, providing as much information as possible and committing to ongoing public dialogue. Local people with concerns should have no doubt where to go to ask questions and find reassurance.
There will be local concerns about the impact on public services. Our understanding is that you are working with the local NHS and transport providers to establish additional dedicated facilities for the site. While we agree that residents need services, it is essential that planners understand the scarcity of local services and the real risk of enhanced community tensions if this is not adequately and sensitively managed, as it will be seen as disadvantaging local people. We request that these services be offered in a way that benefits the local community, ideally through direct access, helping to drive integration and dampen tensions.
Wealden is a quiet, rural area with few services and very low crime levels, meaning local police services are comparatively sparse and focused through the rural crime team on issues specific to Wealden. Sussex Police must be properly funded to ensure that resources are available to protect everyone—the public, service users at the camp, and staff alike—and to provide a police presence that reassures local people.
We understand that a separate company will manage this site with on-site Home Office oversight, building on the experience of managing the two other active MOD sites nationally. We have been reassured that lessons have been learned and that the team recognizes that different challenges may arise at Crowborough, requiring ongoing dialogue with local stakeholders. We stand ready to participate in those discussions, though we would ask that the Home Office suitably compensate us for this work.
We are pleased that your team recognizes the need for service users to have a range of activities available on-site. We ask that you see this as an opportunity to leave a legacy for the MOD and Cadets who will return in twelve months—perhaps ensuring that any investment in facilities benefits both sets of users. We would like to discuss what is planned off-site, as local amenities are quite limited and may not be suitable for service users.
Crowborough is a strong community that proactively welcomed many Ukrainian and Afghan refugees in recent years. We reaffirm this council’s commitment to helping the Home Office connect with the many active community groups who would be a positive resource.
We recognise that the Home Office is not seeking our permission to use the Camp for this purpose, but we are keen to work with you to ensure your plans are as effective as possible and the impact on the community is carefully managed. We welcomed the opportunity for our officers to meet with your operational teams and hope this partnership working can continue.
Yours faithfully,
JP – Leader, Wealden District Council
Home Office Questions and Answers
We contacted the Home Office to ask the following questions and their responses are detailed below.
The government has a statutory obligation to provide for asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation, but in recent years, the costs of doing so have reached unsustainable levels.
The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced. We are seeking to reduce the backlog of claims and appeals, end the use of hotels, and cut the cost of other asylum accommodation as soon as possible.
The asylum accommodation site at Crowborough is based on the former MOD training camp site. It was identified by the Home Office as a site that was suitable to accommodate asylum seekers. Crowborough provides safe accommodation for asylum seekers and is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible.
The contract has not yet been appointed, but this page will be updated when we know.
A separate contractor will be appointed to run the site on behalf of the Home Office. They will be responsible for managing asylum seeker accommodation in a safe and secure manner.
The Home Office continues to work closely with stakeholders, including local authorities, contractors, health, police, and service providers, to ensure that the accommodation is suitable, adequate, and functional.
The site will accommodate up to 600 single adult male asylum seekers between the ages of 18 and 65. They arrive at the site following checks against policing and immigration databases. On arrival, they receive a briefing and orientation about the site and the local community, including sessions on anti-social behaviour and road safety.
Subject to any individual assessments and special circumstances, the maximum length of stay for individual asylum seekers accommodated on site is usually nine months. Asylum seekers at the site are not detained. The site is self-contained and essential services are provided on site to reduce the impact on local services. The process for leaving this site is the same as the rest of our asylum accommodation.
Full details of the conditions under which asylum-seekers receive accommodation support can be found on GOV.UK.
The safety and security of the local communities around the Crowborough site, the staff who work there, and those accommodated at the site are of paramount importance, with a specialist and experienced provider of security services permanently on site. Sussex Police are closely and routinely consulted to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place, and the Home Office has agreed a bid from Sussex Police to cover their costs associated with Crowborough. It will be a priority to tackle any increases in negative feeling amongst our communities.
If criminal activity occurs on site, the site will have robust processes in place to report incidents to the police. As part of their induction process, clear expectations are set out to asylum seekers staying at the site about their expected behaviour whilst on and off the site, and this induction process is continuously updated by the service provider to reflect any feedback we have received from the local community or other stakeholders on behavioural issues. The site is a strict “no alcohol zone”, and we will continue to ensure that the no alcohol rule is enforced.
The Home Office also continues to engage regularly with representatives from Wealden District Council and Sussex County Councils, the NHS, the Police, and local partners to address the concerns of those most impacted by the site and to identify ways to keep them informed.
There will be a reassurance to the community through a physical presence and regular media communications to ensure local people feel safe going about their business in the town.
In addition, a stakeholder group, including the Home Office, will regularly address and action the concerns of the community to improve the operation of the site.
Security arrangements at the site will be continuously reviewed to ensure they are appropriate in keeping everyone associated with the site, and local people living near-by, safe from harm.
Asylum seekers are allocated accommodation on a “no choice” basis, in line with Home Office published policy. If an individual’s needs cannot be met on site, and they are assessed as unsuitable, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.
Evidence about the needs of particular individuals is assessed in line with the criteria published on GOV.UK.
Extensive efforts have been made to minimise the impact on local health services and to facilitate primary health care on site. Primary (GP lead) health care is delivered on site Monday to Friday, through Home Office funding, by healthcare professionals who offer physical and mental health assessments, and who are able to prescribe medication and refer to alternative healthcare services if required.
Asylum seekers are registered with the on-site medical centre so that there is no need for them to register with other local GP practices. In the event of an individual attending or requiring medical treatment from hospital, they will be offered a follow up appointment at the on-site medical centre when they return.
Procedures are in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation (single occupancy) spaces on site. The local UKHSA Health Protection Team provides advice and guidance on the management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease or outbreaks. Individuals will be isolated where this is advised, and pathways are in place to safely manage the transfer of the individual into appropriate accommodation with ongoing care provided.
Some asylum seekers may have been given the opportunity to volunteer within the local community (see here Permission to work & volunteering for asylum seekers).
The site provides functional accommodation and is designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. There are laundry facilities, communal spaces, faith and worship facilities, and areas for recreational and sporting activity to take place.
It is understood that any new intake of asylum seekers at Crowborough will come from small boat arrivals after initial processing checks have been completed.
No – it is expected to take until early 2026 for Crowborough to reach its planned operational capacity of 600.
The decision rests entirely with the Home Office.
We are advised that any challenge to its use on planning grounds would not succeed.
The Home Office have indicated that they will need the site for up to 12 months.
Contact the Home Office
You can contact the Home Office direct at:
Home Office
Direct Communications Unit
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 7035 4848