Wethersfield: Housing migrants at ex-air base 'not an emergency'

A council has told Court of Appeal judges that housing asylum seekers at a former RAF base does not constitute an emergency under planning laws.

The Home Office wants to accommodate 1,700 adult male migrants at MDP Wethersfield in rural Essex.

Braintree District Council is appealing against an earlier High Court decision not to grant an injunction.

The government's barrister said on Monday the asylum centre would help prevent a "second Manston".

The Home Office argued in April that class Q planning legislation permitted development on Crown land in emergencies that "threaten serious damage to human welfare".

The government estimates there will be up to 140,000 migrants needing accommodation by the end of the year.

Mr Justice Waksman said at the High Court he did not have legal power to grant the injunction, but also said the government had a "statutory obligation" to provide asylum seekers accommodation.

However, council barrister Wayne Beglan said at the Court of Appeal that class Q was only meant to be applied to a "natural disaster or a security incident".

Home Secretary Suella Braverman's barrister Paul Brown KC said the High Court ruling was correct, and added that without Wethersfield, there could be "a second Manston situation".

There were an estimated 4,000 people at the migrant processing centre in Kent in October last year - well over the site's designed capacity.

Braintree District Council chief executive Dan Gascoyne, however, said outside the courts earlier that the comments were "a bit of scaremongering".

Mr Gascoyne said: "The Home Office are changing the sorts of people who are likely to be housed at Wethersfield.

"Originally they said it would be all about helping people to come out of hotels and reducing the bill for the government.

"Now they are talking about asylum seekers coming directly from Manston."

The appeal judges - Sir Keith Lindblom, Lord Justice Dingemans and Lady Justice Whipple - are due to make a decision at a later date.

A Home Office spokesperson said military sites would provide "cheaper and more suitable accommodation" and added: "We understand the concerns of local communities and will work closely with councils and key partners to manage the impact of using these sites."

The Home Office also plans to house 2,000 asylum seekers at the former RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, with the first 200 migrants due to arrive in August - although the local council has applied for a judicial review.

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