The government says "there will be opposition" over its proposals to move migrants into former military barracks.
RAF Barnham is one of three former Ministry of Defence locations being considered to house approximately 3,750 asylum seekers across Suffolk, Oxfordshire, and North Yorkshire.
This move is part of efforts to reduce the number of people in hotel accommodation, which ministers say was down by more than a third by March this year compared with its 2023 peak.
Inside the former base, evidence of its past life is visible everywhere.
Narrow dormitory rooms still contain metal bed frames and thin mattresses, with high windows looking out over Breckland grass.
Communal bathrooms, industrial kitchens, and large communal areas stand ready to be repurposed.
However, any return to large-scale residential use would require significant refurbishment due to the worn state of the fixtures.
The heart of the site, a large dining hall, remains empty, with a largely intact industrial kitchen waiting to be brought back into service.
Nearby lounges and office spaces could be transformed into classrooms, social spaces, or casework interviews.
The base's potential new role marks a significant shift from its Cold War roots.
The camp used to support nearby airfields and was part of a wider complex that stored and maintained Britain’s first nuclear weapons, placing rural Suffolk on the frontline of global tension.
As the Home Office considers the site for its new purpose, it stands as a testament to the changing needs and circumstances of modern society.
The shift from military base to potential asylum seeker accommodation highlights the evolving landscape of infrastructure use in the UK.
Justice minister Jake Richards acknowledged the Government would face local opposition but said the action was necessary to end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “The military sites that we are proposing to use… are large sites, they are more contained.
“I understand there will always be opposition to such proposals as we’re setting out today.”
But he added: “Ultimately the question for politicians, when you’re in government, is what are your priorities?
“And we made a promise to the British people that we would close these hotels, which have caused so much angst, so much anxiety, and so much pain across the country and we will do that.
“Now that might mean difficult decisions, but we will do as the Home Secretary has said, whatever it takes to close these hotels, get a grip of our borders, and fix the asylum system and we will do that.”
Share