Overview
- Barnham parish councillors say they will travel to Piddington to learn from last week’s symbolic independence vote and to consider holding a similar, non-binding referendum to protest plans for RAF Barnham.
- The Home Office has proposed using the former RAF Barnham site to house about 1,250 male asylum seekers and ministers and the MoD say the sites would be largely contained for initial processing; a decision is expected in the autumn and some placements could arrive before Christmas.
- Local residents warn the plan would more than double Barnham’s population and say they fear impacts on safety, schooling, local services and daily life if large numbers of mostly single men are placed nearby.
- Campaigners have combined planning and environmental objections — including past munitions storage, possible contamination and protected stone curlew nesting — with protests outside the base and broader unrest in nearby Thetford in August.
- The dispute reflects a wider Home Office drive to move people out of hotels into former military sites and has drawn national political attention, legal and planning challenges, and warnings that far‑right groups have sought to exploit local campaigns.