Accessibility
28 Jun, 2026
Pauline
Briefing provided by Suffolk County Council on 26th June to their councillors:
Forwarded by Barnham's Suffolk County Councillor Harry Richardson to the Parish Council
 
  • Planning and preparation for repurposing the site has not yet commenced but the intention is for the site to be ready to receive asylum seekers towards the end of the calendar year 2026.
  • The cohort will be limited to single males only
  • The maximum bedspace capacity is 1250
  • Asylum seekers will arrive in a phased manner estimating 60 per week
  • The initial operational and planning meeting are likely to take place in the coming weeks,to which officers from SCC and WSC will be invited.
  • The intention we are told is to provide on-site health provision to mitigate impact on local GP practices
  • The intention we are advised is to provide on-site support provision recognising the importance of welfare.
 
It has subsequently been confirmed that this will likely be an 'open' site, with the occupants free to come and go as they please. The questions and concerns I (Cllr Richardson) have raised subsequently are thus: 
 
  1. How long are we expecting people to be housed at RAF Barnham? Is this temporary accommodation or a precursor to a permanent solution on the site?
  2. What will the individuals housed there be permitted to do? I understand those who are claiming asylum are not permitted to undertake paid employment, in which case I do have concerns about a large number of men, with little to occupy their time, and no meaningful recreational or leisure facilities in their immediate vicinity, being housed in a deeply rural setting. 
  3. Has there been any risk assessment undertaken from a safeguarding perspective given this site is a 20-minute walk from Barnham primary school?
 
If there is any other information that would be helpful to receive then please do let me know. I am sure there will be great anxiety in many of our villages as to the exact implications of this proposal and what this will mean in practice, so I will endeavour to seek confirmation about this as soon as possible. 
 
For the avoidance of doubt, neither I nor Cllr Andrew Smith (cc'd) were given advanced notice of this. We received confirmation of the announcement this morning, which is deeply frustrating given that local residents - and the Councillors who have a duty to represent them - were not consulted before this decision was reached. 
 
I know this will be a deeply unsettling time for many of us - the proposed number of asylum seekers to be housed is double the population of the village of Barnham itself - but I wanted to reiterate two things. First, that both myself and District Councillor colleagues (especially Andrew) will do everything we can to support you, and that secondly we will seek urgent confirmation of the specific arrangements that will be put in place if this proposal does materialise.