Crowborough Army Camp: no planning application for 2030

No planning application has been submitted for the use of Crowborough Army Training Camp as asylum accommodation until 2030. We searched Wealden District Council’s planning register on 19 August. Searching the camp’s address returned a single record: WD/2016/0497/F, permission for a climbing tower, decided on 21 April 2016. There were no appeal records and no enforcement records. (Wealden District Council planning register)

That matters because the extension itself is conditional on planning permission, and nobody has yet said which kind.

What the Ministry of Defence has confirmed

The Ministry of Defence put the position in writing on 3 August. Its Property Law Team told the council that the site was first offered to the Home Office for 12 months, but that the two departments “have agreed to extend usage of the site until January 2030 subject to appropriate planning permission”. The letter adds: “This remains a temporary arrangement; the HO intend to return the site to MOD in the future at which point it would cease to be used as asylum accommodation.” (MoD letter, 3 August 2026)

The Home Office had said the same thing a fortnight earlier, in a letter of 21 July from its Asylum Accommodation Delivery Director. That letter also refused a council request to see an unredacted copy of a document called ‘MoD Sites Planning Options’, which had been disclosed in the judicial review proceedings. “I can confirm that this will not be provided,” it says. (Home Office letter, 21 July 2026)

The council’s seven-day deadline has passed

The council was not satisfied. On 5 August its Head of Planning and Environmental Services, Stacey Robins, wrote back to the Ministry of Defence. The reply, she said, “answers only whether an extension has been agreed. It does not answer why the Ministry of Defence changed its previous position, which was the specific question raised in our letter.”

The letter asked the department to explain what changed in its own requirement for the site, and set a deadline: “I would be grateful for a response within seven days.” It also said the council would publish the letter and any response on its website. (Wealden District Council letter to the MoD, 5 August 2026)

Seven days from 5 August was 12 August. When we checked the council’s statements and correspondence page on 19 August, its own 5 August letter was still the most recent item published. No Ministry of Defence reply appears there. (Crowborough Army Camp: Statements and Correspondence)

Whether the council gets a say is still unknown

The council’s August update, posted on 12 August, is blunt about its own position:

The Home Office has not yet confirmed which planning route it intends to follow. Until this is known, it is unclear what role, if any, the council will have in determining future proposals for the site.

The same update says the council “is not responsible for the operation of the camp or decisions made by the Home Office”, and that it can only publish information already public or that it has permission to share. (Wealden District Council, Crowborough Army Camp)

What is at the site now

The Home Office factsheet for the camp was last updated on 30 July. It records that:

• the site began accommodating asylum seekers on 22 January 2026
• full capacity is 540 asylum seekers
• it accommodates single adult men aged 18 to 65
• it is managed for the Home Office by Clearsprings Ready Homes
• security staff are on site 24 hours a day, and alcohol is not permitted on the site
• healthcare is funded by the Home Office and delivered on site by an NHS primary care provider

(GOV.UK, Crowborough Training Camp factsheet)

The council says the site is operating close to that capacity of around 540, and that people typically spend about 80 days there before moving on. Asylum decisions are not made at the camp. (Wealden District Council)

What it means for you

If you want a say on the camp’s use to 2030, the planning route is the thing to watch, and it does not exist yet.

• A full planning application to Wealden District Council would be publicised, and anyone could comment on it. It would appear on the council’s planning register and in our Crowborough planning news.
• Other routes exist that would not give the district council the decision. The council has said plainly that it does not yet know which one the Home Office will use.
• Until an application is validated, there is nothing formal to comment on. Letters to the council will not create a planning decision that has not been triggered.

Two other processes are running. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration is inspecting how the Home Office engages with local authorities when it plans asylum accommodation, and met the council as part of it. The council understands the final report is due with the Home Secretary later this summer. Separately, the Home Office declined an invitation to the council’s Scrutiny and Performance Committee on 8 July, and the committee wrote to it with questions instead. A written response arrived on 22 July and is being considered. (Wealden District Council)

A legal challenge brought by Crowborough Shield CIC against the Home Office’s decision was heard in the High Court in July. The council remains an interested party but said on 23 July that it is not taking an active role. (statements and correspondence)

The council’s next update on the camp is scheduled for mid-September.