The Home Office is to bypass local decision makers and apply to another Government department for planning permission to continue using the army training camp to house asylum seekers.
In another snub to the local council and elected officials the Home Office will apply for planning permission directly to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, bypassing Wealden District Council (WDC) – the local planning authority.
In normal circumstances all planning decisions affecting the district are decided by the local council. The Home Office has informed WDC it will be using Urgent Crown Development procedure to apply for permission.
As part of this process, the council will be invited to submit its views on the application, alongside other organisations, including Natural England and East Sussex Highways Authority. The Secretary of State must take into account any representations received during the consultation period.
Councillor Rachel Millward, Leader of Wealden District Council, said: “I want to be clear that the council remains opposed to the Home Office’s use of Crowborough Army Camp as asylum accommodation and its route to seek planning permission.
“Although the council will not determine this application, we will examine the proposals carefully, submit our views through the formal process and make sure local communities have clear information about how and when they can have their say.”
She added that once the application was published for consultation, the council would make the information available so residents can see the proposals and understand how and when to comment.
The move by the Home Office is the latest in a succession of broken promises and empty apologies. Crowborough News was the first to break the story that the Govt was planning to use the camp – the Home Office had neither informed nor consulted locally elected councillors.
When officials finally surfaced they apologised for the way the issue had been handled and pledged to communicate and engage with the local community. Since then they have moved asylum seekers into the camp without telling anyone, and omitted to tell local decision-makers that two arrests had been made.