Housing asylum seekers in military bases will place pressure on local police forces, Home Office admits

Sussex Police in talks with Home Office about extra funding to manage pressures from Crowborough army base NewsUKHome NewsHousing asylum seekers in military bases will place pressure on local police forces, Home Office admitsSussex Police in talks with Home Office about extra funding to manage pressures from Crowborough army base Holly Bancroft Home Affairs Correspondent Friday 06 March 2026 14:42 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverMigrants move into Crowborough army camp in East SussexYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. 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Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has pressed ahead with plans to house migrants at larger sites, such as military bases, despite warnings that they will cost the government more than controversial asylum hotels. Several demonstrations have taken place this year opposing the government’s use of a military site in East Sussex to house asylum seekers. Crowborough military barracks, which was previously used to accommodate Afghan families evacuated under safe sanctuary schemes, is now due to house more than 500 asylum seekers. The first 27 asylum seekers were moved in at the end of January this year. Asylum seekers will be housed there for three months while their claims are processed, and local councillors have said they have had assurances that the site will only be used for a year. open image in galleryPeople take part in a protest in Crowborough, East Sussex, after the first 27 illegal migrants were moved into Crowborough Training Camp. (PA)Now the Home Office guidance on funding help to deal with large sites has been updated to make sure all police forces are covered. Previously the policy had only applied to specific asylum sites, but the government is looking to expand the number of areas used for migrants. Sussex Police have said they are in discussions with the Home Office about seeking additional funding to deal with the extra costs from housing migrants at Crowborough army base. Protesters opposed to the housing of asylum seekers at the military site marched through Crowborough on Sunday after a High Court judge ruled that the government’s decision to use the base couldn’t be challenged in the courts. Several demonstrations have taken place since the Home Office first proposed using the barracks, with thousands of people in attendance. While aggrieved local residents have made up the marches, some figures from the far-right have also taken the opportunity to ratchet up tensions. This has reportedly included activists from the Operation Raise the Colours movement, some of whom have been banned by French authorities due to harassment of migrants in northern France. Migrant hotels have become flashpoints for violent protests the past two summers with Labour coming under significant political pressure to end their use by the end of this government. The number of migrants housed in hotels is down 19 per cent year-on-year to 30,657, but the numbers who were in contingency or dispersal accommodation – such as shared flats – is slightly up on 2024. 72,769 people were being housed in Home Office accommodation other than hotels as of 31 December 2025, up 2 per cent on 2024.Epping Forest District Council went to court last summer over a protest-hit migrant hotel, which they said had become a “feeding ground for unrest”. They lost their bid for an injunction, but the council will seek to permission to appeal the decision at the Court of Appeal on Thursday. A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: “We recognise the impact of this additional policing demand and are committed to keeping the public safe across the whole of Sussex. We are working with the Home Office to seek additional funding, and these discussions are ongoing.”open image in galleryA general view of Crowborough Training Camp, East Sussex (PA)Essex Police Force have previously received £267,569 from the government to support their policing of Wethersfield asylum camp, and Dorset Police force received £746,888 to help with the Bibby Stockholm barge. Under the previo