Angry residents faced with local population trebling under plans to house asylum seekers at former military base criticise the 'horrifying impact' on their community

Published: 21:07, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 21:12, 6 July 2026 Furious residents living near a former military base earmarked to host 1,250 asylum seekers have spoken of the 'horrifying impact' it would have on their community. The influx of single young men to RAF Barnham would virtually treble the size of the population overnight, they warned, bringing fears of a rise in anti-social behaviour, putting women and children at risk and causing house prices to crash. The Home Office revealed on June 25 that it was attempting to house asylum seekers at the Suffolk base, as well as other military sites in Bicester, Oxfordshire, and Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire. Opposition to the plans in all three areas has grown, particularly in Barnham on the Suffolk and Norfolk border where there have been two mass protests outside the gates of the base which was most recently used for police officers to receive riot training. There had already been angry scenes last week as police blocked entrances to a meeting of town council in nearby Thetford, Norfolk, due to a mob of angry locals trying to force their way in to vent their anger. Attractive Barnham, which is known for its thatched cottages, currently has a population of just 580 people, with no local shop or pub. First-time homebuyer Callum Banthorpe, 23, who purchased a £180,000 two-bedroom semi-detached house in the village in January, said: 'We have not got the infrastructure here for a sudden influx of 1,250 people. 'I know they are going to be relatively self-contained on the base but their presence will still have an impact on the wider area and we are not set up for it. I am a little bit worried about the prospect of them walking around. There have been two mass protests outside the gates of RAF Barnham in Suffolk 'My girlfriend and I are very happy here and we have been made to feel very welcome but I am getting a bit apprehensive. We are just a small village with a hall and no pub. There is nowhere for them to go. 'You hear stories about asylum seekers in hotels in cities but their presence here could be amplified because we are such a small and isolated community. There was no consultation. We were just told that it looks almost certain to happen. 'If I wanted to put a shed in my garden, I would probably have to get planning permission while it seems that the Government can just force through plans to move in more than a thousand people if it wants. 'If I had known about this in advance, it may have made me think twice about buying my house here. You have to wonder about the effect on house prices.' Another villager, who asked not to be named, said: 'This is going to change the character of the village permanently. Who is going to want to live here next to camp containing hundreds of young men when we don't know anything about them?' Parish, district and county councillors have voiced opposition to the plans for RAF Barnham, which have not yet received planning permission. But a spokesperson for West Suffolk Council confirmed that the Government would potentially be able to by-pass local officials by granting itself consent for migrants to move in as part of the campaign to reduce the number of hotels housing asylum seekers. A groundworker called Rocky, who operates PRD Groundworks opposite the camp, said: 'I am desperately hoping it's not going to happen. It is just not an appropriate place for hundreds of asylum seekers. Residents living near a former military base earmarked to host 1,250 asylum seekers have spoken of the 'horrifying impact' it would have on their community The base which was most recently used for police officers to receive riot training Barnham, which is known for its thatched cottages, currently has a population of just 580 people, with no local shop or pub 'It's on the doorstep of local schools and I worry that children will be put in danger. The people living on the camp will not be vetted properly. We will have no way of knowing if they have done wrong. I will need to improve my security. 'I only heard this was happening when I read something on social media but I just thought it was scaremongering. Then there was an official announcement. 'The crazy thing is that they said years ago that the ground inside the base was contaminated which meant they could never build on it. But now they want to move hundreds of people in.' Another local business owner operating opposite the camp said he thought it was inappropriate for asylum seekers to move in due to the large number of UK service personnel living in the area, which is close to RAF Honington, also in Suffolk. He said: 'Everybody has got a right to live somewhere but a lot of these asylum seekers will no doubt have memories of our service people invading their countries a few years ago. They are going to recognise the uniforms. 'I have been told that a lot of service personnel who live around here with their families are petrified by the prospect of migrants from war-torn places coming here. It does not make sense to have them in an area like this. 'Service personnel have been told they can't say anything. They are not allowed to have a voice. Having so many migrants here is going to have a horrifying impact on the community. It is going to be an absolute nightmare.' The business owner said he only realised what was being planned for the camp when he saw contractors starting work three weeks ago on its sewage pumping station to make it operational again for the first time in 15 years. Callum Banthorpe, 23, who purchased a £180,000 two-bedroom semi-detached house in the village in January, said: 'We have not got the infrastructure here for a sudden influx of 1,250 people' Retired toxicologist Steven Beck, 66, who lives in Barnham, said: 'We are pretty unhappy about it. The infrastructure around here just isn't designed for us to have 1,250 single male adults deposited here. What impact is it going to have in getting a doctor or dentist appointment? 'It is a scary prospect for a lot of people. Asylum seekers have a certain reputation. We don't know who they are, where they have come from or what they have done. They are being moved here with nothing for them to do. It is not a great fit for them. 'I know nobody wants them in their back yard but people here feel like it is being forced on them and there has to be somewhere better for them to go. It seems the whole thing is a fait accompli. 'I hear that work has been going on in the camp in secret but nobody here heard anything official until it came out in Parliament. 'You have to wonder if anybody is going to want to move here with a camp like this on the doorstep. My understanding is that it has caused a couple of house sales to fall through in the area already.' Councillors at an extraordinary meeting of West Suffolk Council last week unanimously agreed that RAF Barnham was the wrong place to house asylum seekers due to concerns with 'security, impact on services and the community as well as the suitability of putting a large number of people in a location without adequate facilities'. John Bauer, chairman of Barnham Parish Council, told the meeting that Barnham had very limited access to services, including public transport. He added: 'If this were a conventional housing development for 1,250 people, it would require extensive consultation, transport assessment, environmental review and infrastructure planning.' Val Rogers, 70, said: 'There will be problems as there have been in other areas. I am worried about anti-social behaviour and the safety of women and children' Ricky Taylor, 54, who runs a coal merchants in Barnham with his brother, said: 'It is disgusting. Everyone in the country is working their a**** off and they are just giving money away. 'We are a small business and pay a fortune in tax each year. We don't mind paying tax but we just want to be used to help people who are born here.' Mr Taylor's brother, Roly, 50, added: 'The camp has been empty for a couple of years. It is just not big enough for all the people they want to put there. 'We deliver as far down as the asylum camp at RAF Wethersfield, Essex. We are aware of all the problems that people down there have and we don't want the same thing here.  'It might be different if they were using the camp for families but that doesn't seem to be the case.' Around 500 protesters from across Norfolk and as far away as Essex, many of them waving Union Jacks and England flags, descended on the camp to protest outside the main gates on Sunday. Speakers at an earlier protest included Suffolk County Council's ruling Reform leader Michael Hadwen, who condemned the scheme as 'entirely unacceptable', and raised concerns about its impact on 'a small village with a small rural primary school'. In recent days, protesters have set up a camp outside the main gates and erected flags on surrounding fences and signs, while attracting car horn hoots of support from passing motorists. A room inside RAF Barnham, where 1,250 asylum seekers could be housed Sinking feeling: residents say the local population could treble, with devastating effects on the community Val Rogers, 70, of nearby Euston, who used to work as a steward at RAF Honington, spoke of her disgust at the plans when she arrived to ask protesters at the camp whether they wanted her to fetch them any supplies from Thetford. She said: 'I don't agree with it at all. I have got nothing against people coming here through the proper legal channels but people who come in boats break the law as soon as they set foot here. 'It wouldn't be so bad if they were locked up securely while having their claims processed but they can just come and go.  'There will be problems as there have been in other areas. I am worried about anti-social behaviour and the safety of women and children. We need to minimise the risk to our own people.' Residents in Thetford fear asylum seekers at the base will walk across Barnham Common, a popular dog walking spot, to get in and out of Thetford town centre around a mile from the camp. Mother-of-two Teresa Deacon, 70, of Thetford, who is registered disabled said: 'It will put me off walking on the Common with my dog. There is no path on the road so the guys living on the camp will just be walking across there. 'What is it going to be like in the winter when it gets dark at 4pm? There are already loads of kids from school and colleges getting on and off buses there. You have to worry about them. 'I am frightened enough seeing all the groups of intimidating men that we already have hanging around the town centre. Having loads of asylum seekers is going to make it even worse.' Residents line the street outside the camp to make their feelings known about the plans Mother-of-two Donna, who is aged in her 30s and lives close to the common, said: 'They should use the camp for our own homeless people or veterans' needs before handing it over to asylum seekers who have had no background checks. 'I am not against the people who are here legally but the illegal migrants are just getting too much.' Around 250 locals descended on last week's meeting of Thetford Town Council which discussed the issue but there was only room to admit 120 of them, despite the meeting being moved to a larger venue. Seven police officers were on duty outside the building along with private security staff hired by the council and had to stop members of the public forcing their way in as tempers frayed. One woman at the meeting fought back tears as she spoke into the microphone, saying: 'I don't want to be scared in my own home town. When I walk my dog at 6am, what do I have to carry to keep myself safe?' As heated exchanges continued, councillors repeatedly called for the public to let them answer without interruption.  They said they had been kept in the dark just like the locals and were still yet to receive any information from the Home Office. They agreed to send a letter to the government setting out their concerns. Matthew Stirrup, a Labour councillor on the authority, said: 'We also live here, it's our home as well, and I absolutely assure you we are taking it seriously.' Another councillor said that the lack of communication from the Home Office about the plan to move migrants in was both 'annoying and disrespectful'.