Crowborough Town Council has called on a Cabinet Minister to intervene in the row over the planning application for the town’s army training camp to continue to be used to house asylum seekers.
In an email to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCLG), the town council said it was adding its voice to concerns already raised by Wealden District Council about the process the Home Office intends to use.
Last month we reported the Home Office planned to by-pass local planning councillors and, because of the “urgency” of the situation, use special powers to go direct to the DHCLG for planning permission.
And the town council has also raised concerns that no environmental impact assessment has been carried out in spite of the “potential for significant environmental effects” on the site.
The move created anger at the Home Office’s disregard for local decision-makers and proper planning process.
In its email, the town council has called on the Secretary of State to get involved and consider whether the unusual course of events suggested by the Home Office was necessary or urgent.
And it is questioning, as the camp is already being used, what planning permission the Home Office actually wants, and why it hasn’t acted before now to apply for planning permission – given that it has had plenty of time to do so.
The town council says the fact that accommodation is required for asylum seekers “does not, in itself, establish that this particular development must be dealt with through the exceptional Urgent Crown Development procedure”.
As for the question for the impact on the environment, the town council email says: “Given the scale of the proposal, providing accommodation for up to 540 residents, together with associated infrastructure at Crowborough Training Camp, the Town Council considers that there is potential for significant environmental effects which have not been adequately identified or assessed.”
The email concludes: “The Town Council is particularly concerned that the information relied upon in reaching the screening conclusion contains inaccuracies and omissions. In our view, these matters… raise concerns as to whether the likely environmental effects have been properly understood.
“The Town Council therefore considers that the environmental implications of the proposal require much more thorough assessment than has been undertaken to date. We respectfully request that the identified inaccuracies and omissions are fully investigated and that the environmental effects of the proposal are reconsidered in light of the correct and complete information before the planning process proceeds further.”
To see the actual email visit: www.crowboroughtowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Email-sent-on-29th-September-2026-to-the-Ministry-of-Housing.pdf