Crowborough residents take legal action against Home Office decision to house migrants in army base

The filing explained: “This claim for judicial review is about the extent to which it is lawful for the state, outside of the national security context, to maintain secrecy in a process of authorising a land use planning decision.”

In a statement, the Crowborough Shield Community Interest Company said: "We can confirm that just after 2pm today, on behalf of the people of Crowborough, we have issued proceedings against the Home Secretary in respect of her decision to house migrants at Crowborough Camp.

"We are seeking judicial review to overturn the decision."Our position is that the government’s actions breach the community’s common law rights to justice and procedural fairness.

"We rely on Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects our right to a fair hearing.

"Our position is that residents have been denied the opportunity to understand, scrutinize, or challenge the decision-making process.

"We have named Wealden District Council and the Ministry of Defence as interested parties in our case,” the group added.

Within the details of the reveiw request it read: “The Secretary of State for the Home Department (“SSHD”) and/or the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (“SSHCLG”) have since at least 10 October 2025 been taking steps towards housing up to 540 male asylum seekers (at any one time) aged between 18 and 65 at the Crowborough Training Camp, East Sussex (“the Camp”), formerly owned and operated by the Secretary of State for Defence (“SSD”). The Camp lies in the area of Wealden District Council, the local planning authority (“the Council”).

The latest actions follow the persistent resistance of locals in Crowborough to the decision, seeing thousands of people protest the placement of migrants on the base.

As many as 3,000 residents took to the street on just one day in November, braving the pouring rain to make their voices heard.

Opposition centres on public safety anxieties, particularly following reports that 200 individuals residing in asylum accommodation facilities faced criminal charges, including sexual assault allegations, during the period ending August this year.

Demonstrators displayed banners reading "stop rewarding, start deporting" and "protect our town, protect our communities and protect our families and stop 600 illegal immigrants coming to Crowborough".

The proposals have generated widespread apprehension among the 22,000-strong community, with residents expressing concerns about the rapid implementation timeline and absence of prior consultation.

The Home Office intends to transfer the asylum seekers to the military facility at Crowborough's periphery before the end of December.

Speaking to GB News at the time, locals expressed their fury, with one saying: "I'm marching for my grandchildren and my great grandchildren. I don't want to have them in fear that they can't walk down the street in case they get attacked."

Another explained their concerns over "the safety of the village, women, children and elderly".

Earlier this month, teenage cadets had been ordered to leave Crowborough Training Camp to make way for the incoming migrants.

Cadets at the town's No8 Detachment paraded for the final time on Wednesday evening after being ordered to "cease all activity" by the Ministry of Defence due to safety concerns.

"The Government takes the safety and well-being of all cadets extremely seriously," they added.

Sussex Weald MP Nusrat Ghani was appalled at the decision.

"This is a unique and precious training camp in constant use that is being handed to asylum seekers at the cost of our cadets," she said.

"If they couldn't make the site safe for the cadets, how can they make it safe for local people? It feels like the Home Office is just ignoring us," she added.

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