There have been calls for Wealden District Council leaders to resign following an angry and often heated community meeting in Crowborough this evening to discuss plans to house asylum seekers at the army camp.
The resignation calls were led by Kim Bailey from the residents’ group set up to fight the plans, Crowborough Shield, who said the community needed proper leadership.
She asked Cllr James Partridge and Cllr Rachel Millward why the district council had declined to support the residents’ legal action, or start its own. The response was the council had been advised against it.
Amid cheers and applause from the 300 members of the public attending the meeting at the community centre she said: “You must resign. You don’t understand this situation. We need someone who can take the lead and represent this community.”
The call came at the end of the two-hour meeting which will have demonstrated to the two Home Office officials, who joined on screen, the level of anger and frustration there is in the Crowborough community both at the decision the Govt has made and how it has been handled.
Questions had been levelled at the Home Office’s Director of asylum accommodation, Andrew Larter, but residents were clearly not convinced by his replies or his reassurances. He was booed, and constantly heckled by the audience – some of whom angrily walked out.
The meeting this evening (13 November) had been arranged by Wealden District Council and Crowborough Town Council to give Crowborough residents the chance to raise concerns about the Home Office plans to house 540 asylum seeking men at the army camp. It followed a protest and march at the weekend attended by more than 1,000 people, and other public meetings arranged by political parties.
Various members of the audience accused Mr Larter of not answering the questions. A wide range of questions and concerns were raised, not only by the audience, but also from people who were streaming the meeting.
These related to the impact on local services, how schools and children would be protected, the security of the site, why the asylum seekers could not be detained, and the impact such a large group of men would have on a community with few urban services.
Not even Mr Larter’s repeated apology for the way the Home Office had handled the issue and its lack of community engagement was enough to placate the angry audience. There was a standing ovation when Andrew Wilson said to Mr Larter: “This is a disgrace. You have failed this community, and you have put us at risk.”
Mr Larter, who tried to provide reassurances about how the site would be run and supervised, was not the only official to suffer the audience’s frustration. Town Mayor, Cllr Natalie Whittle was interrupted twice by hecklers, and Wealden District Council leaders, Cllrs Partridge and Cllr Millward were booed onto the stage.
Protesters outside the community centre banged on the windows at various stages and the meeting facilitator, Jon Briggs, had to stop the meeting several times to request that people were not abusive.
At the conclusion of the meeting he asked Mr Larter if the frustration and anger felt by Crowborough residents would be fed back to ministers. He said: “It is exactly my job to take back the concerns and anger everyone has articulated yes.” It would be reported to the Home Office ministerial team, including the Home Secretary, he added.