Legal action over asylum seeker camp plans refused

A judicial review into a decision to house asylum seekers at an army camp in Crowborough will not be allowed to continue, a High Court judge has ruled.

More than 500 male asylum seekers are currently set to be housed at the East Sussex camp under Home Office plans announced last year.

A judge at the Royal Courts of Justice ruled earlier that the review brought by the Crowborough Shield residents' group could not proceed, after a hearing on the challenge on Wednesday.

A Home Office spokesperson said it welcomed the court's decision, while Crowborough Shield said it planned to relaunch its claim.

Delivering his ruling, the Honourable Mr Justice Mould KC said claimants Crowborough Shield had "jumped the gun" on their application for a judicial review.

Lawyers for the Home Office defended the challenge, telling the hearing in London the challenge was "misconceived" and "premature".

Permission was refused on the grounds a challenge was brought before a final decision to use the site to house asylum seekers was taken, he added.

Mr Justice Mould also said that once the Home Office had made its decision in January, the legal claim "should have been discontinued", and he could "form no real understanding as to why it was not done".

He said the final decision to house asylum seekers was "amenable to a judicial review", adding: "There would be no real prejudice to the claimant, or any other putative claimants, in bringing judicial review proceedings against the actual decision made."

Matthew Shankland, of Crowborough Shield, said the group intended to refile its claim before the Wednesday deadline to do so.

Kim Bailey, director and chairwoman of the group, told reporters outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London that a second claim would have a "cost impact".

She said: "That is something I will take forward with the community, because essentially it is their decision whether they want to take this further forward."

On Wednesday, representatives for Crowborough Shield argued in court that decisions around the army camp were made without public consultation.

The plans have previously sparked protests in the town, with the first 27 asylum seekers arriving at the camp in January.

They also argued that the plans for more than 500 asylum seekers would put pressure on the neighbouring Ashdown Forest, with fears that camp residents would wander off into the woods.

A spokesperson for Wealden District Council said it was "disappointed by today's decision" and would be taking "urgent legal advice to consider the issues raised in the judgement".

Protesters have organised multiple marches in Crowborough since the decision was announced by the Home Office in October 2025.

The plans are part of a government push to close asylum seeker hotels across the country.

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