An army barracks converted into a migrant camp will cost the taxpayer £5.6million in policing, according to the area’s police and crime commissioner.
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has requested the seven-figure sum from the Home Office to cover additional policing expenses at the Crowborough asylum seeker accommodation site.
The Conservative PCC submitted the funding application after Sussex Police calculated the anticipated costs for the operation.
Ms Bourne indicated that the force requires extra officers, vehicles, equipment and technology for the remainder of the current financial year and throughout 2026-27.
The cost estimate assumes the site will operate for just 12 months, based on assurances provided by the Home Office.
The figure would fund community engagement activities, public order measures and investigative work at the former army cadet training facility in East Sussex.
Ms Bourne is currently awaiting a response to her application.
The initial group of 27 asylum seekers arrived at the Crowborough barracks in the early hours of Thursday, with a coach spotted entering the premises at 3.28am.
An army barracks converted into a migrant camp will cost the taxpayer £5.6million in policing
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The former military training facility, situated approximately a mile from the town of 20,000 residents, is expected to accommodate up to 540 single male asylum seekers.
Those housed at the site will remain for a maximum of three months whilst their applications are assessed, with unsuccessful claimants facing removal from the country.
Crowborough represents one of two former military locations earmarked by the government to house 900 migrants, alongside a facility in Inverness.
The transfer forms part of Labour’s strategy to close asylum hotels, which currently accommodate around 36,000 people across 200 properties, down from a peak of 56,000 in 400 hotels during September 2025.
The force requires extra officers, vehicles, equipment and technology as 540 asylum seekers are expected to move in Crowborough barracks
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Approximately 1,800 demonstrators gathered outside the former barracks on Sunday, according to police estimates, marking the twelfth consecutive weekend of protests against the facility.
Families with young children joined marchers carrying Union flags, St George’s flags and placards, with the procession concluding at a village green rally in the town.
Protesters chanted “We want Labour out” and “Keir Starmer’s a traitor” throughout the demonstration.
Ryan Bridge, representing the online campaign Raise the Colours, addressed the crowd: “We have had enough. We can make a change, we are going to stop the boats.”
“The real problem is the Government,” he told The Telegraph.
Independent local councillor Andrew Wilson condemned the covert nature of the migrants’ arrival: “Daylight brings questions and the Home Secretary does not have the answers.”
Directing his remarks towards the Home Secretary, he declared: “To Shabana Mahmood, I say this town will not be managed in the dark and we will not be ignored.”
Campaigners have amassed nearly £100,000 to fund potential legal action seeking a judicial review of the Home Office decision, with organisers weighing whether to proceed with a challenge to halt further arrivals.
The placement of the migrants into the town has sparked protests
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Wealden district council is separately exploring legal options after receiving just hours of notice from Home Office minister Alex Norris before the asylum seekers were transferred to the site.
Conservative MP for Sussex Weald Nusrat Ghani expressed her frustration at the development: “The concerns of the community are legitimate.
“All we wanted was some consultation.”
A Sussex Police spokesman stated: “We recognise the impact of this additional policing demand and are committed to keeping the public safe across the whole of Sussex. We are working with the Home Office to seek additional funding.”
