Following media reports of the Home Office’s plans to extend the use of the Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation until 2030, Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, secured an urgent meeting with Home Office Minister Alex Norris MP to scrutinise the Home Office and share concerns of local residents.
Nusrat says:
“As your local champion, I am using every opportunity to raise Crowborough time and time again in Westminster, and I continue to hold the Minister to account on their failure to consult with local residents and share their plans. I told the Minister that I will not accept the contempt with which his government is treating us by refusing to consult or have any meaningful engagement with local people.
I have been relentless in challenging the Home Office and yesterday (1st July 2026), I convened yet another urgent meeting with the Home Office Minister Alex Norris MP regarding the Government's proposals to extend the use of Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers.
I was joined by neighbouring MPs Mims Davies and Dr Kieran Mullan as well as Crowborough Councillors Andrew Wilson and Michael Lunn, and local resident Jeanette Towey, who helped me represent our communities’ concerns and raise our objections directly to the Minister.
I raised concerns regarding the safety and security provisions for the Cadets, and stressed again the need to ensure they are offered a safe, alternative provision, given the resources to continue their training, and consulted every step of the way. I challenged again the lack of local consultation, and lack of evidence that the site is safe, legal and compliant.
Concerns were also shared around transparency on how Wealden District Council spends the £1,200 funding it receives for each asylum seeker. We asked the Minister to ensure tax payers’ money sent to Wealden District Council was being spent on the Community to reduce the impact on local resources. The Minister agreed to work with us to get Wealden District Council to be open and accountable on how it was spending the £1,200 it was paid per asylum seeker.
When the Minister was pressed by Cllr Wilson on attending Scrutiny Meetings which he chairs, the Minister agreed to send a representative to the next meeting to deal with unanswered questions and share future plans.
Once again, we are let down and disappointed that the power sharing Green & Liberal Democrat coalition in charge of Wealden District Council is yet to use any of its planning legal powers to challenge the Home Office’s plans. I continue pushing them to share written evidence of the legal advice they are getting. It is clear that the Home Office can only continue on the site on planning grounds and Wealden District Council is the local planning authority.
I will continue to fight the Home Office until we get the Crowborough Training Camp back.
I will continue to lead the campaign to step up and stand up for Crowborough and challenge the Home Office as they give no guarantee that they will ever willingly leave the Crowborough site.”
