Two military sites earmarked as asylum seeker accommodation

Hundreds of asylum seekers could be housed in two military sites in Inverness and East Sussex as the government seeks to reduce the use of hotels. Asfirst announced in the Times, there are still active discussions over the use of the sites to accommodate 900 men. Around 32,000 asylum seekers are now being housed in hotels. According to the BBC, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ordered Home Office and Ministry of Defence officials to expedite investigations to find appropriate military bases. By the next election, the government has agreed to stop using asylum hotels, which have cost billions of pounds and become a focal point for anti-migrant demonstrations.

Migrants are expected to be housed in the Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough army training camp in East Sussex by the end of November, according to government plans. The sites were not luxury accommodation by any means, according to Defence Minister Luke Pollard, but they were adequate for what was required.This will help us to take the pressure off the asylum hotel estate and make it possible to be closed at a faster rate,

he said. In March 2024, the National Audit Office reported that major bases such as military bases would cost more than hotels to accommodate asylum seekers. According to Pollard, the costs were still being determined, and they would

depend on the base.

But I think there's something that has greater significance in the last few months, and that is the widespread desire to see every asylum hotel close.

He would not be able to tell how many asylum seekers were going to be relocated or when that will happen. According to him, there will need to be sufficient involvement with local authorities and robust security procedures in place.

These discussions have been going on for some time now,

he explained. Angus MacDonald, Inverness's Liberal Democrat MP, told the BBC that he supports the use of military facilities to house asylum seekers, but that the chosen base seemed a little strange considering it is in the town centre. He told BBC Radio 4's Today program that it's basically the same, he said, adding that it was an open barracks without security.

I really believed the idea of placing them in army camps was to get them out of town and make them less of a problem for the local population. Residents have reacted anxivularly to Crowborough's Camp's proposals. When Afghan families, who were evacuated from Kabul after the 2021 evacuation of the city, were previously housed there, one local said there were no problems. Some people expressed skepticism about the effect on local services, with one stating,

There are enough people waiting for [doctor's] appointments.

Ministers are also considering industrial sites, provisional accommodation, and other disused accommodation. According to government sources, all locations would meet health and safety requirements.

We are extremely concerned about the number of illegal migrants and asylum hotels in the United Kingdom,

a Home Office spokesperson said.

This government will close every asylum hotel. With more convenient locations being brought forward to reduce pressure on communities and cut asylum costs, work is well under way.

There were 32,000 asylum seekers being housed in hotels as of June 2025, down from a high of more than 56,000 in 2023 but 2,500 more than last year. According to a study published on Monday, billions of taxpayers' money had been squandered on asylum accommodation, with the Home Affairs Committee finding that hotels were being relied upon as a go-to alternative rather than a stop-gap

I can't tell you how frustrated and angry I am that we've been left with a mess as large as this by the last government,

Sir Keir said in response.

Since opening under the new Conservative government, two former military bases in Essex, MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base in Essex and Napier Barracks, formerly a military base in Kent, are also being used. Both house single, adult men. Wethersfield has a maximum stay of nine months, while Napier can hold 328 men for up to 90 days. A High Court judge described Napier Barracks as squalid and overcrowded, with filthy facilities and detention-like settings, requiring government intervention in 2021 The website has continued to operate, and is set to be turned over by the Ministry of Defense in January, before being taken over by a housing developer in March. Wethersfield was like a jail, according to the High Court, with three migrants bringing a lawsuit against the former home secretary describingtensions and outbreaks of violencewithin its walls. Some security forces at Wethersfield were immediately suspended from their positions of responsibility for wages and working conditions, according to several security forces, who walked out over pay and conditions, and that some residents were violent and possessed weapons. Clearsprings Ready Homes, which has a 10-year deal with the Home Office with the intention of providing accommodation to asylum seekers, as well as operating asylum hotels. On Monday, the Home Affairs Committee cautioned that using former barracks to house large numbers of asylum seekers caused major drawbacks and could cost the same amount to hotels. Compared to the £144, hosting an asylum seeker on Wethersfield barracks costs £132 per night. The average cost of converting a hotel is 98, not including the £105 million expense of renovating the site. The study also highlighted trade-offs including loneliness, inadequate access to healthcare and schools, and local tensions. Following local backlash, such as RAF Scrampton in Lincolnshire, protests to use other military bases in this way have been shelved. Labour claims that the site's proposals, which had been proposed by the previous Tory administration, were scrapped last year because they did not represent value for money. Last month, Pollard said that every site - including those that had not been considered - would be investigated as ministers looked for alternatives to hotels.