Council containing Britain’s biggest asylum camp only spent £40,000 on extra police, despite £2.7m unspent grants: Local women say they are ‘terrified’

Braintree District Council has been criticised for spending only £40,000 on extra police patrols while holding £2.7 million in unspent Home Office grants intended to help manage the impact of the asylum centre at RAF Wethersfield. The issue matters to residents who have called for more patrols and say they feel intimidated, while the council says restrictions and delays imposed by the Home Office have prevented it from using more of the funding.

The council received more than £3.8 million between July 2023 and June 2026 for the site, which can house 1,245 people and has a surge capacity of 1,700. Police recorded 232 calls to the site since 2020, including 192 after asylum seekers moved in; these included reports of assault, rape, sexual offences, theft and other offences. Police records also show 62 crimes involving site residents, 13 resulting in a charge or caution, while the council and Braintree’s MP have called on the Home Office to clarify how the grant can be spent.