The move has been condemned for costing more than placing claimants in hotels and repeating the mistakes of the last government, which faced legal challenges over the use of barracks to house asylum seekers.<\/p>\n
Imran Hussain, director of external affairs at the Refugee Council, said: \u201cAs the government\u2019s own spending watchdog has said, barracks actually cost more money overall than hotels. We know from experience they also isolate people from local communities and essential services, as they are often miles away from the nearest towns, so people who have fled war and persecution cannot find any security or stability while they apply for asylum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Politicians in Bicester have questioned why the government would want to build asylum accommodation there, given that the last attempt to do so in 2001 was halted by protests, planning delays and excessive costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Calum Miller, the Lib Dem MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said the latest Home Office proposal \u201clooked like a political fix\u201d and would not work.<\/p>\n \u201cMinisters say they are closing asylum hotels, but they appear to be replacing one costly and unsuitable model with another, without giving local communities the answers they deserve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nicola David, a member of the Linton-on-Ouse Action Group, which fought plans to accommodate asylum seekers on the base when the previous government proposed this in 2022, said the announcement was \u201ca real gut punch\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe fought hard against these proposals \u2013 and we won, proving that this was the \u2018wrong plan, wrong place\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s still wrong. There\u2019s nothing good about warehousing a large number of asylum seekers in a tiny remote village,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kim Bailey, of Crowborough Shield CIC, which has mounted a legal challenge against the Home Office\u2019s use of Crowborough to accommodate asylum seekers, said: \u201cThe government continues to advance the argument that large-scale asylum accommodation sites represent better value for money. However, the available figures tell a different story. Military-style accommodation sites cost more than hotels.\u201d<\/p>\n Wethersfield residents Nick and Mair Godley said: \u201cWe are very disappointed to learn that, in spite of assurances given by this government when in opposition and by the previous government that the use of Wethersfield would be temporary, they now seem to be seeking an indefinite extension of both time and numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is presented as a done deal with no consultation with the local community \u2026 It\u2019s a blatant display of Home Office arrogance.\u201d<\/p>\n The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels has fallen to its lowest level since data was first reported in 2022, according to Home Office figures published last month.<\/p>\n
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