Wealden's Cabinet decides on 7 October how to share up to £450,000 of Home Office money: £170,000 for a Crowborough community fund, £50,000 for the town.
Wealden District Council will decide on Wednesday how to share out up to £450,000 of Home Office money linked to Crowborough Army Camp. The council’s Cabinet meets at 10am on 7 October.
The money is the Asylum Dispersal Grant. The Home Office pays it to councils with asylum accommodation in their area, rather than providing all the support directly. The council has £332,600 so far. (Cabinet report, Allocation of Asylum Grant 2026/27)
More than half the proposed spending stays with the town rather than the camp. The report puts £260,000 towards public and community services in Crowborough and £190,000 towards support for the people living at the camp.
Where the money would go
For Crowborough, £260,000 in total:
- £110,000 to a new Crowborough Community Investment Fund. Local groups would apply for grants for projects that respond to the camp’s impact on the town. The criteria will be published separately.
- £100,000 towards new facilities for the RAF and Army cadets. These would be built inside the camp. Asylum seekers would use them in the short term, and the cadets would keep them afterwards.
- £50,000 to Crowborough Town Council to recruit extra staff. The report says its town-centre office now handles “substantially more” enquiries, complaints and Freedom of Information requests because of the camp.
For people living at the camp, £190,000 in total:
- £100,000 to Migrant Help, the charity the Home Office contracts to support asylum seekers. The money would cover needs such as phone and internet access, clothing and luggage.
- £90,000 to SAMAS, a not-for-profit that runs English lessons, music, art and sport on site. It would pay for coordinators supporting around 200 volunteers, plus materials and expenses.
Anything received during the year above the £450,000 would be held as a contingency.
The £110,000 the council is giving back
The report estimates the camp has cost Wealden about £110,000 in extra officer time. That figure leaves out legal work and expenses. The grant rules would let the council keep that sum to cover its own costs. Instead, it proposes putting the same amount into the new community fund.
The fund would also take £60,000 left unspent from the 2025/26 ward budget scheme, bringing it to £170,000. Two sums are already pencilled in from it:
- £10,000 for Crowborough’s cadet associations, for short-term running costs
- £10,000 for Crowborough High Street, including empty shops and shop fronts
How the grant is worked out
The Home Office paid £1,200 for each person at the camp on 30 March 2026, plus a share for the weeks between January and the end of March. The report says that first payment was based on 241 beds.
From now on the council gets £100 a month for each person above that 241 baseline, paid quarterly. Officers expect at least £40,000 a quarter. If less arrives, the community fund shrinks. The report says no cost would fall on the council’s own budget.
The camp currently houses about 500 people, the report says. The council’s own September update, posted on 30 September, says the site is running close to its capacity of around 540. (Wealden, Crowborough Army Camp updates)
Why other services are not on the list
East Sussex County Council runs schools and social care. It told Wealden it has met the extra costs from its existing budgets and has not asked for a share. Sussex Police and the NHS get funding through other government routes, the report says.
The money comes with conditions. It can only be spent on easing pressure on public services and on asylum seekers’ wellbeing, mental health and community cohesion. Money not spent that way could be clawed back by the Home Office.
The council still opposes the camp
The report repeats that the council “continues to oppose the use of the camp to house asylum seekers”. It says the spending plan “do[es] not alter the Council’s position on the use of the site”.
It also says there has not been a significant increase in crime in Crowborough since the camp opened. It accepts that some residents have reported feeling less safe.
Cadets get their buildings back
Separately, the Ministry of Defence has started fencing two buildings at the camp used by cadets, the council said on Friday. The fencing keeps everyone except cadets and their adult volunteers out. The Home Office is paying for it. (Wealden District Council, 2 October 2026)
The timetable, as the council gives it:
- By the end of October: some cadet activity resumes
- November: training could restart
- Before Christmas: the Air Cadets start parading in the second building
Councillor Rachel Millward, Alliance for Wealden (Green Party), leader of the council, said the cadets “should not lose out because of decisions about the wider use of the camp”. She said the work “should help local young people feel more comfortable using facilities that matter to them”.
Where the 2030 plan stands
The council’s September update fills in the rest:
- Planning: the Home Office will apply straight to the Secretary of State under the Urgent Crown Development procedure, as it told the council on 2 September. Our explainer: ministers will decide the 2030 plan. The application has not yet been published.
- High Court: Crowborough Shield CIC’s legal challenge to the Home Office was heard in July. The outcome has not yet been published.
- Inspection: the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration sent a report on how the Home Office works with councils to the Home Secretary on 27 August. It has not yet been published.
- Protests: these continue outside the camp, generally on Sunday mornings.
The council’s next update is due in mid-October.
What it means for you
- Local groups: a £170,000 fund for Crowborough community projects is on the way if Cabinet agrees. The rules are not out yet. Watch Wealden’s army camp page for the criteria.
- High Street businesses: £10,000 is earmarked for empty shops and shop fronts.
- Cadet families: some activity should be back at the camp by the end of October.
- To read the papers or follow the decision: the Cabinet agenda for 7 October carries the full report. The same meeting also decides on moving £300,000 for a new 3G football pitch to Goldsmiths Recreation Ground.
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