The Government was on Wednesday facing growing legal threats from Conservative councils as it prepared to announce plans for a barge housing more than 500 asylum seekers off the coast of Dorset.
MPs, businesses and residents have spoken out about the proposal to moor the 93-metre long vessel off the Isle of Portland.
The three-storey Bibby Stockholm barge was used by the Dutch government to house asylum seekers and has reportedly been refurbished since it was branded an “oppressive environment” when used in the Netherlands.
Conservative-run Dorset Council has opposed the use of Portland Port as the site for the boat. Local Tory MP Richard Drax said: “We will look at any way we can stop this.”
It comes as a judge was appointed to hear Conservative-run Braintree District Council’s bid for an injunction against plans to house 1,700 migrants at Wethersfield airfield in Essex.
The council had expected to attend a court hearing in London on Wednesday, but this was postponed until after Easter.
The land, in Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s constituency, was announced as a temporary home facility for asylum seekers last week.
It will be used alongside a former prison in Bexhill, East Sussex and RAF Scampton near Lincoln, which is also subject to a legal challenge from West Lindsey District Council that is supported by Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh.
Braintree council leader Graham Butland told the Evening Standard that officials for the Essex authority would find out the High Court timetable for their case against the Home Office’s plans for Wethersfield airfield on Tuesday next week.
He said: “It’s a completely unacceptable place to put 1,700 people, we have been told will predominantly be young, single men. It is in the middle of nowhere.
“There is simply not the infrastructure here to support them.”
A Braintree council spokesman added: “We were informed late yesterday afternoon (Tuesday, 4 April) by the High Court that the Judge assigned to hear the case has decided that the hearing could wait to be heard after the Easter court recess.
“We therefore look forward to bringing our legal case forward to the Judge after Easter and will keep residents updated on the outcome.
“We remain of the view that Wethersfield airfield is an unsuitable site to house asylum seekers, given the lack of capacity in local services, its isolated location and the fact that the scale of the development proposed could have a significant impact upon the local community.”
