Home Office Resubmits Scaled-Back RAF Barnham Plan for 931 Asylum Places

Overview

• The Home Office withdrew its original application on October 13 and lodged a new planning bid the next day that reduces the planned capacity from 1,250 to 931 places.
• Reporting shows the base currently provides about 320 usable beds and many buildings need repair, so more than 600 additional bed spaces and major sewage and utility upgrades would be required to reach the proposed capacity.
• The scheme remains on the Urgent Crown Development fast-track, which lets ministers bypass much local planning scrutiny and places final approval with Angela Rayner.
• Local councils and MPs for West Suffolk, Norfolk and Breckland oppose the plan and villagers have held months of protests and are preparing a symbolic referendum to signal their resistance.
• Public money has already paid for surveys and preparatory work running into the millions and the Home Office has said it hopes to move the first men in before Christmas, a timetable critics say risks rushed or incomplete upgrades.