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A council has lost its bid to obtain a High Court injunction blocking government plans to use a redundant RAF airfield in Essex to house asylum seekers. Braintree Borough Council has taken legal action over the proposed use of Wethersfield airfield to house up to 1,700 male asylum seekers for 180 days each. Land owned by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) was one of the sites identified when Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick revealed plans last month to house asylum seekers on disused military bases to reduce reliance on hotels.
Lawyers for the local authority have asked a judge to grant them an injunction preventing use of the 6.5-hectare site, arguing that the proposals would violate planning control.
The council rejected the government's argument that the need to accommodate more asylum seekers is an "emergency" under the Planning Act.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense opposed the injunction, and government lawyers called for the case to be dismissed.
Handing down a ruling in London on Friday, Justice Waksman found that the court lacked legal power to grant the council's request and therefore ruled in favor of the government.
The judge said the Home Office estimated there were 109,000 asylum seekers, the highest level ever recorded, in need of accommodation and support at the end of last month, including 48,000 staying in hotels, at a total cost of £6, 2 million per day. .
The court heard on Wednesday that the Home Office's operational plans were based on scenarios of up to 56,000 small boat arrivals in 2023, bringing the number of people in need of accommodation and support to between 120,000 and 140,000.
Paul Brown KC of the Home Office told the court that several factors had contributed to the reception problems for asylum seekers, including the impact of the Covid pandemic, the relocation plan in Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine.
The lawyer argued that the current situation constituted an "emergency" because it risked leaving people homeless and destitute, and that the government would fail in its duty to asylum seekers.
The judge said that it was not necessary for him to rule on the points raised about the emergency, but in any case he gave his conclusions on them, finding that the large number of asylum seekers requiring accommodation constituted an emergency.
He said providing accommodation to asylum seekers was not an "option" but a "legal obligation" on the Home Secretary.
"The urgency here is that the situation creates a real risk of homelessness," he said, adding that the plans "are clearly aimed at preventing and mitigating homelessness for asylum seekers."
We thank the judge for granting the board's appeal request and we will now consider the next steps.
"I believe that there is a qualifying urgency here," he added.
"I'm pretty happy myself that the development here is covered by the Q-Class and I would have found it if I had the ability," Judge said.
The judge also allowed the council to appeal its decision, saying the disputed issues should be heard by the Court of Appeal.
Ordering a one-day expedited hearing, he said it was "important that local authorities and central government know as soon as possible where they stand in relation to a higher court."
"I think this is one of those cases where there is a compelling reason to appeal," he said.
A porte-parole du council of district of Braintree declared: «We restons d'avis that the Wethersfield aerodrome is an unsuitable site, compte tenu du manque de capacité des services locaux, de son emplacement isolé, de la taille du site et du fait que l'échelle du développement proposed pourrait avoir un impact significatif sur la communauté locale, et je tiens à remercier tous ceux qui ont travaillé avec nous, y compris les résidents locaux, les groupes communautaires, les conseils paroissiaux et les députés, until now.
“We are grateful to the judge for granting the council's appeal request and we will now consider the next steps.
“Should the plans come to fruition, we will continue to work closely with our partners to press the Home Office to share more detailed information about their plans with the local community and identify actions needed for us to support housed asylum seekers and minimize the impacts. in our local communities.
Welcoming the decision, a Home Office spokesman later said: "Providing housing on military surplus sites will provide cheaper and more suitable housing for those arriving by small boats, while helping to reduce the use of expensive hotels."
"Lodging sites are not only more affordable for taxpayers, but also more manageable and orderly for communities, thanks to on-site healthcare and catering facilities, 24/7 security the week and the basic, safe and secure accommodation they provide.
PA wire
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