Latest news on barracks and similar accommodation

Napier barracks to close, Wethersfield stays open

Napier barracks, one of the first mass accommodation sites opened to house asylum seekers, is to be closed in September after years of controversy about conditions there, including a mass Covid outbreak, decrepit facilities and far-right protests. A high court ruling in 2021 found that the site did not meet “minimum standards”. The Guardian has a readers’ letter explaining how volunteers have helped asylum seekers there.

Wethersfield, a remote military base in Essex, continues to operate without a confirmed end date. Three asylum seekers were found to have been accommodated there unlawfully in a recent high court ruling, although the judge found in the Home Office’s favour on most of the broader points of the challenge. The case is TG & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025]. Free Movement has more details.

Meanwhile, the Home Office confirmed it is looking into ways to expand the base even though Keir Starmer vowed to close the Essex facility. RAF Wethersfield currently houses around 540 migrants.

Home Office settles Manston inquiry judicial review

The Home Office has settled the judicial review claims that sought an independent inquiry into events at Manston barracks in 2022. The claims were brought by individuals detained at Manston, when there were widespread concerns around overcrowding and poor conditions.

The claimants included families, lone women and people with various forms of trauma. The claims had been due to be heard in January 2025. A copy of the sealed order disposing of the claims is available from Free Movement here.

‘They wanted help, we gave them a prison boat’

In openDemocracy, Sian Norris talked to people about their experiences on the Bibby Stockholm barge, whose last asylum-seeker resident left in November.

“Bye bye, Bibby Stockholm,” says Right to Remain in a blog on the barge’s departure.