Braintree council leaves £2.7m asylum-camp grant largely untouched, spends only £40k on police patrols

Braintree District Council was allocated more than £3.8 million in Home Office grants to mitigate the impact of the RAF Wethersfield asylum camp, yet £2.7 million of that money sits unused. The council has so far spent merely £40,000 on Essex Police patrols intended to improve community cohesion in the town of Braintree, which lies eight miles from the site. Residents have voiced fears of intimidation, harassment, theft and violent incidents, with police data showing 232 emergency calls since 2020, most of them after the camp opened.

The council says Home Office funding rules are highly restrictive and have prevented broader spending, while local MP James Cleverly and others demand clearer guidance. Critics, including Robert Bates of the Centre for Migration Control, argue the funds should be used to protect the community or convert the site into a detention facility. In response, Essex County Council launched a three-month private-security pilot, Operation Vanguard, costing about £118,000, to increase visible patrols in town centres.