The Home office has been accused of ‘adding fuel to the fire’ by trying to quadruple the number of asylum seekers placed in homes in an area where there was widespread unrest over the issue last month.
This would represent a huge increase of 428 percent compared to the 56 beds currently available.
The municipality of Breckland includes Thetford, where several consecutive nights of angry protests against residents of residential addresses took place at the beginning of last month. Some had to be led away by police.
The town is less than two miles away RAF Barnham, the center of months of protests against plans to house at least 1,250 migrants at the former military base.
Scott Hussey, a senior reform councilor at Norfolk County Council and Breckland District Council, described the HMO plans as a “double whammy” for the area.
‘Not content with attempts to turn RAF Barnham into a near-permanent super camp for illegal immigrants, the Home Office now admits they have only just succeeded started their program to house migrantshe said.
‘Thetford has already seized the lion’s share of migrant housing and is likely to see many more.
Police formed a protective line in Thetford last month after a crowd protested against the housing of asylum seekers in residential accommodation
‘Other cities will not remain untouched; there have already been protests about this in Watton and Thetford.
“The Home Office will add fuel to the fire if they go ahead with Barnham and a fast-track program to house young, single, undocumented men in the heart of our communities.
“All this happened without any public consultation. No wonder people are angry and frustrated.’
Sam Chapman-Allen, the Conservative leader of Breckland Council, has repeatedly complained about the government’s program of ‘dispersed housing’ for migrants.
The policy was launched in a bid to move away from £8m-a-day hotel accommodation and sparked protests across the country.
He said: ‘The central government’s policy of placing asylum seekers in communities without proper consultation, adequate infrastructure or the necessary support services is completely unacceptable and must change.
“For months I have been questioning a national system in which decisions affecting our cities and towns are made behind closed doors, with little transparency and no meaningful voice for the people expected to live with the consequences.
“Breckland Council will not stand by silently while decisions are imposed on our communities.
A number of arrests were made during the protests in Thetford, which lasted several nights
‘We demand a fundamental change in national policy, full transparency about how and why sites are selected, and proper consultation with municipalities and residents before any decision is made.’
Violence broke out in Thetford on August 4 when angry residents surrounded three houses allegedly used by asylum seekers.
The disturbance continued the following night when two officers required hospital treatment – one who was hit by a rock and another who was ‘severely bitten’ during another protest – entering a third night. Several arrests were made.
Protesters marched on Watton in May as migrants were moved from the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, near Norwich, to properties in the city.
The hotel had been the scene of regular clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters, putting enormous strain on police resources.
Another Breckland town, Dereham, has been at the center of long-running disputes over a local hotel used as a large-scale care facility for asylum seekers.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he wants ‘all parts of the country’play their role’ by accepting asylum seekers into their area.
The closed-door meeting between Home Office officials and Norfolk County Council took place on August 5.
In a transcript seen by the Mail, an official said: ‘For Breckland, I think there are 56 beds available for what we call this dispersed accommodation.
‘I don’t know if there are 56 people in those beds, but we have the figure for the beds themselves. This is 23 percent towards the target for Breckland.
‘Our aim is for every local government to achieve a fair distribution across the country. We are somewhere below where the target would normally be for Breckland.”
Reform councilor Scott Hussey, seen addressing protesters at RAF Barnham, accused the Home Office of ‘throwing fuel on the fire’ with the HMO plan
Protests have been going on for months against plans to house at least 1,250 asylum seekers at RAF Barnham
The meeting had already caused concern, as emerged last month among officials Shabana Mahmood’s department admitted that the number of men housed at RAF Barnham – which is on the doorstep of a community of just 600 people – could ultimately be ‘many more’.
Terry Jermy, the Labor MP for South West Norfolk, who was elected in 2024 with a narrow majority of just 630, said he welcomed “the progress the government is making on reducing immigration”.
But he added: ‘I have consistently opposed the use of HMOs and have called on the Home Office to stop this practice.’
Figures from the Ministry of the Interior show that at the end of March this year, 97,519 people received asylum support.
Of these, 72,768 were in ‘other’ accommodation, including ‘dispersed’ accommodation that typically consists of apartments or houses often set up as a healthcare organization.
A further 20,885 were in hotel accommodation, while 3,866 were on subsistence only – meaning they only received weekly money from the government for basic necessities such as food, clothing and toiletries.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘Communities’ concerns are at the heart of our immigration reforms.
Home Office officials have admitted there could be ‘many more’ than the 1,250 predominantly young, single men who initially announced they would move to RAF Barnham.
‘That is why we close every asylum hotel and move asylum seekers to alternative housing, including former military locations.
‘We are working to deliver fair housing for asylum seekers across the country, working with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities, and we have saved taxpayers more than £1 billion on the cost of asylum support since the election.’
