Essex council spent only £40,000 of £3.8m asylum grant

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 22:56 · Archive

Braintree District Council has spent just £40,000 of £3.8 million in Home Office grants on policing near the UK's largest asylum camp.

Braintree District Council in Essex received £3.8 million in Home Office grants between July 2023 and June 2026 to help manage the impact of MDP Wethersfield, a disused RAF base repurposed in July 2023 to house asylum seekers. The facility has a capacity of 1,245 asylum seekers. The council has been heavily criticised for spending only £40,000 of the total on increased policing, with £2.7 million remaining unspent.

Local residents, particularly women, have reported feeling intimidated and unsafe, citing concerns about harassment, theft and violence. They have repeatedly asked for additional police patrols in Braintree town centre, which is located eight miles from the asylum camp.

Police data shows 232 calls to emergency services at the site since 2020, with 192 of those calls coming after the asylum seekers arrived. The calls included 31 for assault, three for rape, two for sexual offences, nine for theft, one for stabbing and two for human trafficking and slavery. Residents of the site have also been recorded in 62 crimes, 13 of which resulted in a charge or caution.

How it is being reported

• Women ‘terrified’ as council spends just £40,000 on police near UK's largest asylum campIt comes despite the Home Office handing the council £3.8 million following the opening of the site in 2023.Daily Express · 24 Oct, 22:26
• Council containing Britain's biggest asylum camp only spent £40,000 on extra police, despite £2.7m unspent grants: Local women say they are 'terrified'An Essex council containing Britain's biggest asylum camp has been engulfed in scandal over how it has spent money earmarked to mitigate the site.Daily Mail · 24 Oct, 14:54

In this story: Braintree District Council · MDP Wethersfield · Braintree · Essex · Essex Police · Home Office

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