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  "path": "/news/labour-house-asylum-seekers-ex-military-sites",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-25T21:30:02.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Membership",
    "Andy Burnham's immigration U-turn to 'cost British families £1.8k each'",
    "More than 50,000 illegal migrants on the loose in Britain after dropping off Home Office radar",
    "Shabana Mahmood abandons plan to house asylum seekers at Scottish army barracks",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nLabour is seeking to house thousands of asylum seekers in three new ex-military sites around Britain.\n\nThe fresh immigration reforms, introduced to Parliament next week, threaten to affect rural towns across the UK.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLabour has pledged to permanently end the use of asylum hotels by 2029, with locals fearing the redirection of migrants will have a detrimental effect on communities.\n\nThe 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, as Labour begin the shift to HMOs and former military barracks.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThere were 20,885 people staying in hotels while they were awaiting a decision on their asylum claims at the end of March, down 35 per cent year-on-year from 32,326.\n\nThe total had climbed as high as 56,018 at the end of September 2023.\n\nThe issue of people being housed in hotels came to the fore last year with protests outside some sites.\n\nOn Thursday, the Home Office said 20 more hotels have now been closed.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe Ministry of Defence has highlighted three new sites that will accommodate 3,750 asylum seekers and announced an expansion of two others.\n\nBorder security and asylum minister Alex Norris said: ”We promised to close every asylum hotel and hand them back to communities, and that is exactly what we are doing.\n\n\"Twenty more hotels have closed, and hotel numbers have more than halved since their peak. Instead, we’re moving asylum seekers into ex-military sites that are a far cry from the hotels the last Government left us with.\n\n\"This is a system being brought back under control - and we will not stop until the job is done.\"\n\nThe Refugee Council’s Imran Hussain said: \"Moving refugees from unsuitable hotels to unsuitable former military sites is storing up problems for the next Prime Minister by repeating policies that failed in the recent past. It would be wise to rethink this approach.\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Andy Burnham's immigration U-turn to 'cost British families £1.8k each'\n  * More than 50,000 illegal migrants on the loose in Britain after dropping off Home Office radar\n  * Shabana Mahmood abandons plan to house asylum seekers at Scottish army barracks\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire\n\n\n\n\nThe former Royal Air Force station is located in the village of Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, roughly 10 miles north-west of York.\n\nOpened in 1937 as part of the Air Force's \"Expansion Period\", the historic site served as a major operational bomber base where legendary aircraft like the Whitleys, Lancasters, and Halifaxes were flown.\n\nIt officially ceased military operations in 2020.\n\nLinton-on-Ouse is described as a small, quiet, and scenic rural village with a close-knit population of around 1,200 residents.\n\nThe Home Office previously tried to use the site in 2022 to house up to 1,500 asylum seekers, more than doubling the current population of the nearby town, despite opposition from local people and a legal challenge by the council.\n\nNow, it will house its share of the 3,750 asylum seekers, split between the three new sites, with the exact number at each location remaining unknown.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Bicester, Oxfordshire\n\n\n\n\nBicester is a rapidly growing, historic market town in the Cherwell District of north-eastern Oxfordshire, near the borders of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, and serves as a major gateway to the North Oxfordshire countryside.\n\nThe Anglo-Saxon town's most globally recognised destination is Bicester Village, a massive, pedestrianised open-air luxury outlet mall featuring over 150 designer boutiques and world-class dining.\n\nIt welcomes over 6.7 to 7.3 million visitors annually, and it ranks alongside Buckingham Palace as one of the most-visited destinations in the United Kingdom.\n\nAn unnamed military base will house its share of the 3,750 asylum seekers.\n\nRecent Home Office data shows the broader Cherwell district houses around 100 to 150 asylum seekers in temporary accommodation, such as local hotels.\n\nGB News analysis shows that Campsfield House, currently an Immigration Removal Centre, is the most likely destination, as it has recently undergone a comprehensive £70 million refurbishment.****\n\nIn June 2026, the Home Office submitted plans to the Planning Inspectorate to increase capacity to 400 beds.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Barnham, Suffolk\n\n\n\n\nThe Home Office is also seeking planning permission to use RAF Barnham to house asylum seekers.\n\nLocal residents have recently reported a sudden spike in physical activity on the grounds.\n\nReports of the installation of new warning signs and welfare units indicate that facilities are being evaluated in anticipation of impending arrivals.\n\nNick Timothy, the MP for West Suffolk, expressed alarm over the lack of proper local consultation.\n\nHe said placing undocumented asylum seekers at the site would heavily strain local infrastructure, safety, and public services.\n\nA major portion of RAF Barnham was a former high-security nuclear weapons storage facility during the Cold War and is a protected Scheduled Monument, while other sections are privately owned as an industrial estate.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Wethersfield, Essex\n\n\n\n\nRAF Wethersfield asylum accommodation centre is increasing the number of single male migrants housed there from 766 to 1,245.\n\nCurrently, standard operations typically cap the site at roughly 800 users.\n\nThe non-detained site, located in a highly rural pocket of Braintree, Essex, is currently operated by the private contractor Clearsprings Ready Homes.\n\nThe Leader of Essex County Council publicly demanded an immediate halt to the expansion plans.\n\nLocal officials explicitly state that shifting thousands of individuals from hotels to a rural heartland 11 miles from the nearest town is entirely unsustainable.\n\nLocal councils and police forces report that public transport, healthcare, and police resources are severely overstretched, with community tensions strained as well.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n### Crowborough, East Sussex\n\n\n\n\nCrowborough camp, which costs a massive £160 per person every single night, is being expanded under the new plans.\n\nThe amount currently spent exceeds the cost of local asylum hotels.\n\nUnder the new plans, the site will remain open until 2030, despite previous promises of a 12-month closure.\n\nThe local community has formed a resident-led patrol group, Crowborough Aware, comprising 81 volunteers, in response to concerns about behaviour linked to the nearby accommodation site.\n\nThe camp initially welcomed a cohort of 27 men, before introducing a further 325 residents.\n\nThese new plans will expand the camp further.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**\n**\n\n**\n**\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Labour seeking to house THOUSANDS of asylum seekers in three new ex-military sites - is your area one of them?"
}