Legal challenge filed against army camp asylum plan
Demonstrators have gathered multiple times in Crowborough
- Published
A group of residents has launched a legal case against the government over plans to house asylum seekers at an army training camp in East Sussex.
An announcement by the Home Office in October that 540 male asylum seekers would be temporarily housed at Crowborough Training Camp has sparked protests in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, the Crowborough Shield residents group requested a judicial review, claiming the plans breached the community's "common law rights to justice and procedural fairness".
The Home Office said it did not comment on individual asylum accommodation sites or on operational arrangements around those sites.
A Crowborough Shield spokesperson said: "We rely on Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects our right to a fair hearing.
"Our position is that residents have been denied the opportunity to understand, scrutinize, or challenge the decision-making process."
An aerial view of the army camp
Wealden District Council, named as an interest party in the case, said it too wanted to see the plans scrapped.
"We have been transparent and open throughout and have communicated every step we have taken in this process," a spokesperson said.
"We remain committed to supporting the Crowborough community in any way that we can.
"Unfortunately, the Home Office's lack of engagement and any coherent communication has led to division and has stoked fear in the community.
"This could have been avoided if they had engaged earlier."
How many people are in asylum accommodation?
An asylum seeker is someone who wants to be in the UK because they say they cannot live safely in their own country due to persecution or violence.
The government must house an asylum seeker if they cannot financially support themselves while their claim is being considered. There were 108,085 people in asylum accommodation as of September 2025.
About 34% of those people, 36,273, were in hotels. These are used when there is not enough shared housing available, such as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) or former military sites.
The government has pledged to stop the use of hotels by 2029.
More people are in hotels across the south of England than elsewhere in the UK, while HMOs are more common in the north of England and Scotland.
Numbers of asylum seekers in hotels by council area
How many people apply for asylum in the UK?
A total of 110,051 people applied for asylum in the UK from October 2024 to September 2025. This was up by 13% on the same period in the previous year.
Most people who arrive in the UK by small boat claim asylum, but they were only 41% of all asylum seekers from October 2024 to September 2025.
The rest include people who arrived by other illegal means or who came to the UK legally and applied for asylum while holding, or just after holding, a valid visa.
How big is the asylum backlog?
It can take years for the government to decide whether someone should be granted asylum.
There was a backlog of 80,841 people waiting for a first decision on their claim in September 2025. This was down by 39% on the previous year.
There was also a second backlog of 69,670 people as of September 2025 who have been refused asylum, but have appealed the decision in court. This has more than doubled since the previous year.
Together, these two figures make up the government’s total asylum backlog, which it has pledged to clear.
Refugee status was granted in about 44% of asylum decisions made by the Home Office from October 2024 to September 2025.
Refusals were overturned in about 42% of the appeal decisions made from October 2024 to September 2025.
The Home Office told the BBC the government intended to close every asylum hotel and was considering military sites as temporary accommodation to reduce the impact on communities and better deliver for the taxpayer.
"Work is well under way, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities and cut asylum costs," the Home Office added.
"We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery."
The legal proceedings were also issued against the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who has been contacted for comment.
The Secretary of State for Defence, listed as an interested party, has also been contacted for comment.
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, external, on X, external, and on Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk , external or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
- Published3 days ago
- Published16 November
- Published21 November
