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Wethersfield: Braintree council appealing against airbase migrant decision

PA Media MDP Wethersfield housingPA Media
MDP Wethersfield in Essex is located about 10 miles from the nearest big town of Braintree

A district council has said it will appeal against a High Court decision that paved the way for asylum seekers to be housed at a former RAF station.

The Home Office wants to place 1,700 adult male migrants at MDP Wethersfield in rural Essex, making it the UK's largest asylum accommodation centre.

Braintree District Council asked for an injunction but a judge ruled in the government's favour.

The local authority said it would lodge Court of Appeal papers next week.

In a statement posted on the council website, a spokesperson said: "We have been reflecting on next steps and have decided to proceed with appealing [against] the High Court's decision, as we share the same view as many in our community that Wethersfield airfield is not a suitable site for asylum use."

Simon Dedman/BBC MDP WethersfieldSimon Dedman/BBC
Mr Justice Waksman said the council already had permission to appeal against the decision

The council argued at a hearing last week that the proposals were a "flagrant breach" of planning laws and the location was too isolated.

The 335-hectare site is located 10 miles from the nearest railway station in Braintree.

The Home Office and MOD, however, said changing the use of government-owned land was justified under planning law because it would prevent an emergency which "threatens serious damage to human welfare".

Jon Ironmonger Protesters in Wethersfield, Essex holding large bannersJon Ironmonger
About 250 people turned out for a protest in Wethersfield in March

The government has said it wants to stop putting asylum seekers into hotels which it estimates costs £6.2m per day.

Mr Justice Waksman said the government had a "statutory obligation" to accommodate asylum seekers and, regardless, that he did not have the legal power to grant the council's application.

The judge said Braintree already had his permission to lodge an appeal because councils and government needed to "know where they stand".

The Home Office has also earmarked two other MOD sites - RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and a former RAF station in Bexhill, East Sussex - for similar accommodation.

The council said on Friday that its appeal did not stop the Home Office continuing to prepare Wethersfield for the accommodation.

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