Overview
- This week reporting said Home Office due diligence shows refurbishment and new sewage, utilities and ordnance‑clearance work could push Barnham’s costs into the millions and make the scheme unviable.
- The Home Office is pressing ahead with a policy to close asylum hotels and move people into ex‑military sites that it says would be self‑contained and subject to mandatory biometric and security checks.
- Local leaders and residents have held weekly protests at Barnham, police have investigated related disorder in nearby Thetford and councillors say community safety and service strain are major concerns.
- Ministers have sought Urgent Crown Development powers to bypass local planning decisions, and officials have refused to guarantee the publicly cited capacity, saying numbers could increase.
- Environmental protections for rare birds and the cost blowouts at earlier projects such as RAF Scampton strengthen the argument that Barnham may be too risky or expensive to proceed.