Refugees won't be housed at RAF base in quaint English village after locals protest

Contractors acting for the Home Office informed Broadland District Council on Monday morning that the scheme would no longer go ahead.

The plans involved using the former officers’ mess at the base near Badersfield to provide temporary accommodation.

Broadland District Council leader Sue Holland described the decision as "sensible" to GB News.

She told The People's Channel: "The site was inappropriate for a number of reasons, not least its isolation and lack of connection to services that would be critical to support those who moved into Jaguar House.

"The proposed numbers were also entirely out of proportion to the number of people already living in the area.”

Contractor BM Trust had sought permission to use the Jaguar Buildings on the site for up to 12 months, the Eastern Daily Press reports.

The facility was intended to house Afghan nationals and their families who worked alongside British forces following the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Those individuals have been granted permission to relocate to the UK, with the Norfolk site originally earmarked as temporary accommodation while permanent housing was arranged.

However, the contractor emailed council officials to confirm the application had been withdrawn, without giving a detailed explanation for the decision.

The development had faced growing resistance from some villagers who argued the area lacked the infrastructure needed to support such a large number of arrivals.

Residents displayed protest posters around Badersfield objecting to the proposals.

Several local parish councils also raised concerns about the suitability of the site.

Buxton with Lamas Parish Council, Horstead with Stanninghall Parish Council and Coltishall Parish Council all submitted objections.

Meanwhile, health officials warned about the potential strain on local services.

The NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board raised concerns about the challenge of registering around 200 additional patients with GP surgeries that were already operating at capacity.

The proposal had also been subject to mounting pressure for a quick decision, with the applicant previously describing it as “imperative” that planning approval be granted swiftly.

Despite this urgency, the application did not appear on the agenda for Broadland’s February planning committee or its most recent meeting.

The decision to withdraw the proposal comes amid wider national debate over the use of former military sites to house migrants.

Last year, several similar schemes prompted protests across the country, particularly when hotels were used to house asylum seekers.

However, the group who would have been accommodated at RAF Coltishall were refugees rather than asylum seekers.

Similar proposals at other historic RAF sites have also sparked controversy in recent years.

At RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, Government plans to house migrants at the former base were scrapped after strong opposition.

The site, famous for being the wartime home of the No617 Squadron, better known as the Dambusters, is now expected to be redeveloped as a centre for aviation heritage, research and education.