Residents march against East Sussex Northeye asylum seeker centre plans - video

The event, organised by No to Northeye, saw people march through Bexhill holding placards.

The Home Office is proposing to turn Northeye, a former prison and training centre in Bexhill, into a centre for up to 1,200 asylum seekers, with the first 800 people expected to move into the centre by September.

Last Wednesday (June 7) a motion was put forward at Bexhill Town Council’s meeting by Sackville ward town councillor Claire Baldry calling for the council to oppose the plans. The council agreed the motion.

Nigel Jacklin, ward councillor for Bexhill St Marks and founder of the No to Northeye campaign, said: “Saturday’s event was the third peaceful event organised by the No to Northeye campaign group and the sixth time residents have gathered in the 10 weeks since the Home Office announced plans to use the Northeye site as an asylum seeker accommodation centre.

"With widespread opposition to the camp, residents are still on tenterhooks. The Home Office have not announced a final decision on use of the site, with the sale of the land being subject to a toxicology report.”

He said the campaign group’s next action is to persuade Rother District Council to vote to oppose the camp in light of a similar vote by Bexhill Town Council last week.

Northeye is one of several sites to be chosen in the UK by the Government and will accommodate up to 1,200 people by the end of this year.

A Homes Office spokesperson said: “We expect there to be c.800 people in phase one of the site opening by September 2023. We plan to accommodate c.1,200 people by December 2023.

"The Home Office would work with our future service provider to ensure the site is operationally viable and minimises any impact on the wider community.”

The plans for Northeye were first unveiled at the end of March and since then several gatherings by concerned residents from the area have been held, as well as several protests.

The town council also held a public meeting where residents aired their concerns over the proposals.

A protest was held on May 20 where around 200 people took part in the demonstration.

A legal challenge launched by Bexhill resident, Jeff Newnham, in a bid to fight the Government’s Northeye plans has also raised £15,000.

He launched the legal action last month, setting up a fundraising page on CrowdJustice, to help towards legal costs.

Last month, Bexhill MP Huw Merriman revealed that he did not oppose plans to build the centre for asylum seekers at Northeye.

He was speaking on Good Morning Britain on May 12 with presenters Kate Garraway and Adil Ray.

Mr Merriman said: “Our policy is to move asylum seekers away from hotels. They are costly and they are not safe in terms of people being targeted by modern slavery gangs. I would rather see people housed in more humane situations where there is something to do, where it does not blight hotels and the areas around them. I know that causes a challenge for my constituents. I obviously want to mitigate that by making sure that there is enough security in place and NHS provision provided in the camp.”

The Home Office said the Northeye site will accommodate single adult male asylum seekers.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “By designing the site to be as self-sufficient as possible, we would minimise the impact on local communities and services. This includes consideration of impacts to the community during both construction and operational phases. As proposals develop, we will work closely with local stakeholders to manage any impact on the local area.”

Legal bid launched against East Sussex asylum centre plans