The Home Office is facing claims it is “pouring fuel on the fire” after outlining plans to dramatically expand the number of asylum seekers housed in an area recently shaken by migration-related protests.
Officials told Norfolk county councillors at a meeting that they are seeking to use 240 rooms in houses in multiple occupation, known as HMOs, to accommodate asylum seekers in Breckland.
If approved, the move would mark a 428 per cent rise from the current provision of 56 beds.
Breckland includes Thetford, where tensions spilled over last month during several consecutive nights of angry demonstrations linked to the occupants of residential properties. Police were forced to escort some people away from the scene.
The town sits less than two miles from RAF Barnham, the former military base that has already become the centre of months of protests over proposals to house at least 1,250 migrants there.
Scott Hussey, a senior Reform councillor who sits on both Norfolk County Council and Breckland District Council, said the HMO proposal amounted to a “double whammy” for local residents.
He said: “Not content with trying to turn RAF Barnham into a near-permanent super camp for illegal immigrants, the Home Office now admits they’ve only just got started with their programme of housing migrants in houses.
“Thetford has already taken the lion’s share of migrant houses and will likely see many more.
Police form a protective line in Thetford last month after a crowd protested against asylum seekers being housed in residential accommodation
‘Other towns won’t be untouched either – there have already been protests in Watton and Thetford over this.
‘The Home Office will be pouring fuel on the fire if they press ahead with Barnham and an accelerated programme of housing young, single, undocumented men into the heart of our communities.
‘All of this has happened with no public consultation whatsoever. No wonder people are angry and frustrated.’
Sam Chapman-Allen, the Conservative leader of Breckland Council, has repeatedly complained about the Government’s programme of ‘dispersed accommodation’ for migrants.
The policy was launched in an attempt to move away from hotel accommodation that was costing £8million a day and caused protests around the country.
He said: ‘Central government’s policy of placing asylum seekers into communities without proper consultation, adequate infrastructure or the necessary support services is completely unacceptable and must change.
‘For months, I have challenged a national system in which decisions affecting our towns and villages are taken behind closed doors, with little transparency and no meaningful voice for the people expected to live with the consequences.
‘Breckland Council will not stand silently by while decisions are imposed on our communities.
A number of arrests were made during the Thetford protests, which went on for several nights
‘We are demanding a fundamental change in national policy, full transparency over how and why sites are selected, and proper consultation with councils and residents before any decision is taken.’
Violence broke out in Thetford on August 4 when furious residents surrounded three houses rumoured to be used by asylum seekers.
The disorder continued the following night when two officers needed hospital treatment – one who was hit by a rock and another who was ‘seriously bitten’ during another protest – and went into a third evening. Several arrests were made.
Protesters marched on Watton in May when migrants were relocated from the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, near Norwich, to properties in the town.
The hotel had been the scene of regular clashes between protestors and counter-protestors and put a huge strain on police resources.
Another Breckland town, Dereham, has been the focus of long-running disputes over a local hotel being used as a large-scale HMO for asylum seekers.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he wants ‘all parts of the country’ to ‘play their part’ by accepting asylum seekers in their area.
The behind-closed-doors meeting between Home Office officials and Norfolk County Council took place on August 5.
In a transcript seen by the Mail, a civil servant said: ‘For Breckland, I believe there are 56 bed spaces that are available to us for what we call this dispersed accommodation.
‘I do not know whether there are 56 people in those bed spaces but we have the figure for the beds themselves. This is 23 per cent towards the target for Breckland.
‘We have a target for every local authority to achieve fair dispersal 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 ‘pouring fuel on the fire’ with the HMO scheme
Protests have taken place for months about plans to house at least 1,250 asylum seekers at RAF Barnham
The meeting had already spiked concerns after it emerged last month that officials from Shabana Mahmood’s department admitted the number of men housed at RAF Barnham – which sits on the doorstep of a community with just 600 people – could end up being ‘a lot more’.
Terry Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk who was elected with a slim majority of just 630 in 2024, said he welcomed ‘the progress the government is making in relation to reducing immigration’.
But he added: ‘I have been consistently against the use of HMOs and have called for the Home Office to stop this practice.’
Home Office figures show there were 97,519 people in receipt of asylum support at the end of March this year.
Of these, 72,768 were in ‘other’ accommodation including ‘dispersal’ accommodation typically comprising flats or houses often set up as HMOs.
Another 20,885 were in hotel accommodation, while 3,866 were getting subsistence support only – meaning they solely received weekly money from the Government for basic living needs such as food, clothing and toiletries.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms.
Home Office officials have admitted there could be a ‘lot more’ than the 1,250 predominantly young, single men initially announced to be moving to RAF Barnham
‘That is why we are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites.
‘We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities.’
