Council loses court bid to block asylum seekers plan for Essex base

A council has lost its High Court bid to block government plans to house asylum seekers at a former RAF base.

The Home Office wants to house 1,700 adult male migrants at MDP Wethersfield in rural Essex, making it the UK's largest asylum accommodation centre.

Braintree District Council wanted an injunction, arguing the proposals were a "flagrant breach" of planning laws.

Mr Justice Waksman said he did not have the legal power to grant the council's application.

"Braintree District Council says this is all about cost - but I do not accept that," he said, giving a ruling in London on Friday.

"It is also a question of the general sustainability of the hotel options going forward.

"Provision of the accommodation for the asylum seekers is not just an option for the home secretary - but a statutory obligation."

The judge said that while he ruled in favour of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, he would automatically send the case to the Court of Appeal because it had major implications.

"It is important for both local authorities and central government to know where they stand as soon as possible," he added.

However, the council's barrister Wayne Beglan said: "They are not emergencies sufficient to justify circumventing the normal planning controls."

The government has said it wants to stop putting up asylum seekers in hotels, which it has estimated costs £6.2m per day.

It said 48,000 out of 109,000 asylum seekers in the UK, as of March this year, were in hotels.

The airfield site covers about 335 hectares and is located 10 miles from the nearest railway station in Braintree.

There is no longer an RAF presence at Wethersfield, between the towns of Braintree and Haverhill, but it is used for Ministry of Defence Police training.

Reacting to the High Court ruling, a Braintree council spokesperson said the local authority would continue to "press" the Home Office for more detail about its plans.

They added: "We remain of the view that Wethersfield airfield is an unsuitable site, given the lack of capacity in local services, its isolated location, the size of the site, and the fact that the scale of the development proposed could have a significant impact upon the local community."