EXCLUSIVE: THOUSANDS of Calais migrants to take over idyllic English tourist hamlet
AN IDYLLIC English tourist hamlet is set to be over-run by thousands of male migrants from Calais after the Government announced plans for an asylum seeker centre.
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GETTY•JUPITER IMAGESThe 150 residents of Earnley, near the popular Witterings beaches in West Sussex, have overwhelmingly voted against the Home Office plans for Earnley Concourse, a former educational holiday home for foreign students, to be turned into a temporary home for men fleeing their war-torn homelands in the Middle East and Africa.
As many as 200 men, aged between 18 and 39, will be housed in the centre - which currently only has room for 101 students - for between three and 19-days at a time.
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Whether they're in tweed jackets or tracksuits, in Earnley or London, this many all-male refugees will affect the feeling of the village
The plans have caused panic in the hamlet and surrounding area, with flyers posted through every door warning the residents, many who are elderly, the plan for more than 6,000 young men to come through Earnley in a year is "entirely disproportionate".
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And business owners in nearby Bracklesham, where the nearest shop is, are worried the influx of refugees will put their fragile tourist industry at risk.
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She said: "Tourism is the main source of income in the parish and people are very worried this would put holidaymakers off and employment would be affected."
"Whether they're in tweed jackets or tracksuits, in Earnley or London, this many all-male refugees who may not speak English or understand our culture will affect the feeling of the village.
"Some people I spoke to who are planning to move to Earnley said they will pull out of an offer on a house if the plans go through. Many of us feel sorry for them but this tiny rural setting just doesn't seem appropriate for them or us."
GettyThe site would be run by Clearsprings, one of three companies contracted by the Home Office to provide asylum seeker accommodation under a multi-million pound contract called COMPASS.
On their application form to the council, no mention was made of what Earnley Concourse was to be turned into, with villagers only finding out indirectly recently.
The truck driver, who used to work at Earnley Concourse's maintenance department, said: "There is little round there other than farmland, so what are 200 people going to do?
"I know lots of truckers who go through Calais and they are scared going through there because of the people's behaviour.
"You just can't drop a community of that size, which will keep changing, on us.
"It's a nice area with quite big houses and a fair bit of money, but what will happen to house prices. People won't be able to sell and if the people are there just three to 19 days how many are they expecting to come in?"
Migrant crisis explained in numbers
Thu, November 26, 2015A monthly record of 218,394 migrants and refugees reached Europe by sea in October, the UN says, almost as many as the total number of arrivals in 2014. We take a look at the shocking statistics facing the humanitarian crisis.
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5,000 migrants are reaching Europe every day over the so-called Balkan migrant corridor of Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia and Slovenia [AP]
"The site has its own classrooms, shop, cinema, games rooms and gym."
Getty"Should an agreement be reached to put The Concourse to this worthy use we would expect our neighbours to notice little difference to when we house over 200 foreign school children.
"We have been very encouraged by the feedback we have received from many neighbours, the church, local charities and the wider Chichester community."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that one of our contractors (Clearsprings) has submitted a planning application for a change of use for a site near Chichester.
"We await the council's decision on the application.”
He said decisions on where to house asylum seekers was down to individual contractors, who bear the cost.
He refused to reveal the locations of all current and planned sites across the UK, adding: "We do not actively discuss the locations of initial asylum accommodation, for the protection and privacy of these vulnerable people."
He said: "The proposal is for the site to be used for up to six months for short-term accommodation.
"The site is not part of the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme, under which 20,000 people who have fled from Syria are being brought from the region over the next five years to be given refuge in the UK.
"If someone is found not to need our protection, we expect them to leave the country voluntarily. Where they do not, we will seek to enforce their departure."
