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Wethersfield: community update newsletter: July 2025

Updated 30 July 2025

This newsletter has been developed to help provide members of the local community with relevant updates on the site, and address some frequently raise concerns.

We are grateful for the input of members of the Multi Agency Forum (MAF), which supports operational planning of the Wethersfield site, and consists of representatives from the Home Office, Braintree District Council, Essex County Council, Essex Police, Mid and South Essex NHS, Essex Fire & Rescue, East of England Strategic Migration Partnership, Migrant Help and the site’s contracted service provider, Clearsprings Ready Homes.

Site update

Regular occupancy

On 31 January 2025, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that the conditions of the Special Development Order (SDO), which limited occupancy to 580 bedspaces, have been discharged. From this date, the Home Office has been able to gradually in a controlled manner increase regular occupancy at the site from 580 to just under 800 bedspaces.

Currently, the average length of stay for an asylum-seeker at Wethersfield is approximately 81 days, and on average, 80 asylum-seekers leave the site each month.

Additional contingency occupancy

The site also has 445 contingency bedspaces which can be brought into use to help manage short-term pressures across the wider asylum accommodation estate. The total combined bedspace is therefore 1,245: 800 regular and 445 contingency.

If called upon, the contingency bedspaces will only be utilised on a temporary basis until such time as the wider accommodation estate is able to manage demand, and the number accommodated at Wethersfield will be reduced back down to 800 bedspaces as soon as possible thereafter.

Any increase in inflow onto the site to use contingency bedspaces will be gradual (increasing the maximum inflow from the normal 60 per week to 100 per week) and subject to the same rigorous procedures and reviews as for regular occupancy inflow.

In readiness for a potential request to utilise some or all of the contingency bedspaces, the Home Office has been consulting Clearsprings, Migrant Help, Mid and South Essex NHS and Essex Police to assure the readiness of the site and assess any wider impacts.

Community impact

Dedicated internal and external stakeholder working groups continue to discuss areas of concern around the use of the site, while the feedback we receive directly from the community continues to drive valuable improvements to operational processes on site. This feedback has already helped further refine and strengthen the two-day induction that all new arrivals receive on arriving at Wethersfield.

An example of collaborative working between the Home Office, Braintree District Council, Essex Highways, Essex Police and local Parish Councillors is the completion of work to clear the drain that caused flooding across Sculpins Lane which impacted the private residences on this road.

Home Office officials, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Braintree District Council continue to work closely with Essex Police to improve communication with the local community.

Community safety

The safety and security of the local communities around the Wethersfield site, the staff who work there, and those accommodated at the site are of paramount importance, with a specialist and experienced provider of security services permanently on site.

Essex Police are closely and routinely consulted to ensure appropriate security arrangements are in place, and the Home Office has agreed a bid from Essex Police to cover their costs associated with Wethersfield. If criminal activity occurs on site, Clearsprings Ready Homes have robust processes in place to report incidents to the police.

As part of their induction process, clear expectations are set out to asylum seekers staying at the site about their expected behaviour whilst on and off the site, and this induction process is continuously updated by the service provider to reflect any feedback we have received from the local community or other stakeholders on behavioural issues. The site is a strict “no alcohol zone”, and we will continue to ensure that the no alcohol rule is enforced.

The Essex Police website provides regular updates to communities across the area. If you require any further information, please use this resource.

Health provision and wellbeing

Extensive efforts continue to be made to minimise the impact on local health services and to facilitate primary health care on site. Primary (GP lead) health care is delivered on site Monday to Friday, through Home Office funding, by healthcare professionals who offer physical and mental health assessments, and who are able to prescribe medication and refer to alternative healthcare services if required. Asylum seekers are registered with the on-site medical centre so that there is no need for them to register with other local GP practices.

In the event of an individual attending or requiring medical treatment from hospital, they will be offered a follow up appointment at the on-site medical centre when they return.

Procedures are in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation (single occupancy) spaces on site. The local UKHSA Health Protection Team provides advice and guidance on the management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease or outbreaks. Individuals will be isolated where this is advised, and pathways are in place to safely manage the transfer of the individual into appropriate accommodation with ongoing care provided.

Planning permission (Special Development Order - SDO)

The Home Office’s use of the Wethersfield site is governed by a Special Development Order (SDO), a type of secondary legislation granting planning permission, which was laid before Parliament on 21 March 2024 and which came into force on 11 April 2024.

This SDO granted permission for the Home Office to use the site for accommodation until April 2027. The Wethersfield SDO includes 27 conditions. Compliance with these conditions is regularly monitored by officials from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to assure there are no breaches of the planning permission.

Contact

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Home Office Direct Communications Unit:

• via email to public.enquiries@homeoffice.gov.uk
• by telephone on 020 7035 4848
• by post to 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF