Councillors and the local MP are among those criticising the decision to move migrants from the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe to properties in Watton.

Protests in the Breckland town are due to take place on Sunday and there are fears it could become a focus for future flashpoints, amid ongoing tensions over immigration.

Regular protests have taken place outside the Brook Hotel (Image: Jolly Roger Media/Facebook)

Among those organising the demonstrations are campaigners who were involved in staging regular protests outside the Brook.

Sam Chapman-Allen, the Conservative leader of Breckland Council, said Watton was “ill-suited” to accommodate asylum seekers because, as the district’s smallest market town, it does not have the facilities needed.

He said he had raised his concerns with the Home Office before the migrants were moved.

Sam Chapman-Allen, leader of Breckland Council, says officials from his council have met with the Home Office (Image: Breckland Council)

“We have said from the start about Watton not being a suitable location,” he said.

“We are deeply disappointed that those warnings have been ignored.

“I fully understand why many local people will feel frustrated and concerned.”

He said his officials had met with their counterparts from the Home Office on Thursday – the day after the migrants moved in – and Friday but said he believed they have “not listened to or heeded our concerns”.

The migrants are thought to have been the last asylum seekers to have been moved out of the Brook, which has been a focus for regular clashes between protestors and counter-protestors and has put a huge strain on police resources.

The asylum seekers were moved to Watton on Wednesday (Image: Supplied)

The government has been trying to end the use of asylum hotels to reduce the cost to the taxpayer and remove a source of tension in many neighbourhoods around the country.

However, the decision to relocate them to houses in residential areas risks creating more flashpoints.

The migrants from the Brook were taken to Watton in minibuses and taxis on Wednesday afternoon and have been moved into at least two houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in different residential streets in the town, about a mile apart.

George Freeman MP says he understands local anger (Image: Laurie Noble/Houses of Parliament)

There are thought to be around four migrants in one of them and seven in the other.

The protest is due to be held at Chaston Place, on Watton High Street, at 2pm on Sunday.

Police say they are aware of the planned protests and are monitoring the situation.

Organisers have stressed that they plan to demonstrate peacefully but there are concerns that activity they could heighten tensions in the town, which has a population of around 12,000.

George Freeman, the area’s Conservative MP, said he understood the local anger but said he did not support the protests.

A Best Western sign at the Brook Hotel which has been taped over (Image: Newsquest)

“I don’t think local demonstrations help and I worry they risk stirring up more anger and pressure on our already stretched local police, which helps no one,” he said.

“I’m afraid this is another example of the Home Office contemptuously ignoring local councils, public services and elected councillors and MP in a way which does nothing for public trust in the immigration or asylum system – or community relations,” he added.

Tina Kiddell, Reform councillor for Watton on Breckland Council, has urged people to “protest through words” by writing to Mr Freeman.

Jack White, the new county councillor for Watton (Image: Facebook)

Tina Kiddell, district councillor for Watton (Image: Tina Kiddell)

Jack White, who was elected as Watton county councillor for Reform last week, said he completely understood why “emotions are running high”.

“Many of these wider pressures are the result of years of failed national policies and decisions made far away from towns like Watton, often without proper local input or consideration for the impact on communities and services,” said Mr White.

He has not decided whether he will attend the protest on Sunday, but urged anyone considering attending “to remain peaceful, lawful and respectful”.