Could 200 asylum seekers be housed in Cambridgeshire fens?

Could 200 asylum seekers be housed in Fenland? Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC Image caption, Plans for asylum accommodation in Leverington sparked a protest By Ben Schofield , BBC East political correspondent  and  Nicola Haseler , in Leverington Published 3 hours ago About 200 protesters marched through a quiet Fenland village carrying placards saying "No asylum seekers here please" and "Battle for Britain 2026". Fenland District Council said it had been told by the Home Office a site in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, could "provide 26 bed spaces for mothers and babies". According to Steve Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire, Fenland could eventually see 205 asylum seekers living across the district. What do we know about the plans and what has been the reaction to them? "We are here today to protect women and children and the elderly in our village," said Matty McCourt, who was among those protesting in Leverington, near Wisbech, on Sunday. "They're trying to move 200 migrants into this old people's home and we're not going to stand for it," he said. The parish of Leverington had about 3,495 residents in 2020, according to figures from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Insight. Track the UK's latest migration numbers McCourt was standing outside Roman Court, a former sheltered housing complex in the village, which has lay vacant for several years. The site was listed for sale in an auction in October 2025 and the property details said it contained 21 self-contained flats, including 16 studios, four one-bedroom and one three-bedroom units. There is also planning permission to build single-storey extensions to four of the flats. Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC Image caption, Matty McCourt, second from right, said his daughter went to school nearby McCourt said his daughter went to school "just up the road" from Roman Court. He added: "This is worried parents out here, concerned parents, concerned grandparents, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters. "Everyone's concerned and that's why you've got so many numbers here." But, according to Fenland District Council, so far Roman Court is being earmarked to provide 26 beds , external for asylum seeking mothers and their babies, rather than 205. There is currently no government accommodation or hotels for asylum seekers in Fenland. In a statement last month, the council said it had "successfully objected" to Home Office proposals for "several sites" to house asylum seekers. It added that in a letter to the authority's chief executive, the Home Office told the council Roman Court had been "identified as part of government's nationwide plan to move asylum seekers out of hotel and short-term accommodation elsewhere in the country, into longer-term 'dispersal accommodation'". Image source, Steve Hubbard/BBC Image caption, The protesters gathered near Roman Court and marched through the village According to Fenland District Council, the Home Office's letter said: "The site could provide 26 bed spaces for mothers and babies and has been approved for further consideration as dispersal accommodation. "We recognise concerns about community cohesion, anti-social behaviour, the site's previous condition and management, regulatory involvement, and its proximity to schools and a nursery and will address these further." The BBC asked Fenland District Council for a copy of the letter, but was told it was not available. The Home Office said it could not comment on individual sites because of safety concerns for staff and residents. A Home Office spokesperson said: "The government is closing every asylum hotel, saving taxpayers over £1bn on asylum support since the election. "We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, engaging with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities." Click to expand Tap the questions below How many people are in asylum accommodation? An asylum seeker is someone who wants to be in the UK because they say they cannot live safely in their own country due to persecution or violence. The government must house an asylum seeker if they cannot financially support themselves while their claim is being considered. There were 89,089 people in asylum accommodation as of June 2026. About 18% of those people, 16,021, were in hotels. These are used when there is not enough shared housing available, such as houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) or former military sites . The government has pledged to stop the use of hotels by 2029. More people are in hotels across the south of England than elsewhere in the UK, while HMOs are more common in the north of England and Scotland. Numbers of asylum seekers in hotels by council area A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive Type in a postcode or the name of a local council below to see how many asylum seekers are housed in the area How many people apply for asylum in the UK? A total of 85,891 people applied for asylum in the UK from July 2025 to June 2026. This was down by 21% on the same period in the previous year. Most people who arrive in the UK by small boat claim asylum, but they were only 40% of all asylum seekers from July 2025 to June 2026. The rest include people who arrived by other illegal means or who came to the UK legally and applied for asylum while holding, or just after holding, a valid visa. How big is the asylum backlog? It can take years for the government to decide whether someone should be granted asylum. In June 2026, 40,168 people - across 32,401 asylum applications - were waiting for an initial decision. The number of people awaiting an initial decision was down by 56% on the previous year. As of June 2026, a further 90,341 refused asylum applications were part of a second backlog, waiting the outcome of an appeal in the courts. This was up by 51% on the previous year. Together, these initial decision and appeal cases form the government’s total asylum applications backlog, which it has pledged to clear . Refugee status was granted in about 38% of asylum decisions made by the Home Office from July 2025 to June 2026. About 39% of asylum appeal cases concluded between January 2026 to December 2026 resulted in a previous refusal decision being overturned. See more key stats on hotels, small boats and asylum Image source, Steve Hubbard/BBC Image caption, A housing association closed Roman Court several years ago Data published in August , external showed that as of June this year, there were three asylum seekers living in Fenland. They were said to be receiving "subsistence" support only, which is usually cash, but not accommodation. The district has previously housed far more asylum seekers. In September 2023, there were 45 people in hotel accommodation, but they have since been moved on. Barclay said he had been told of plans , external "to move 205 asylum seekers to Fenland". The Roman Court plans were "just the initial part" of the Home Office's proposals, he added. The previous Conservative government, which included Barclay, had "recognised that this area was not suitable for asylum accommodation" and was "exempt from asylum accommodation", he added. In a letter to the Home Office , external , Samantha Hoy, Fenland's councillor responsible for housing, said that placing asylum seekers in the PE13 and PE14 postcodes – which cover Wisbech and the surrounding villages including Leverington – represented "a serious risk to public safety, community cohesion and civil unrest". She said that was because of pre-existing public safety, anti-social behaviour and criminal exploitation concerns in the area. The council, Hoy added, was "seriously concerned" about an allocation of 205 asylum seekers for the district. That number was "completely arbitrary and unreasonable", she added. Image source, Steve Hubbard/BBC Image caption, According to the council and local MP, housing asylum seekers in Leverington are only part of the plans in Fenland The backlog of asylum appeal cases was at a record high as of the end of March , according to Ministry of Justice figures. Ministers and officials have been trying to close hotels that have been used to house asylum seekers and find alternative accommodation. Diana Bailey, who was also at the Leverington protest said she was "terrified" by the plans. "Although they're saying they're putting women in here, when they begin to claim their family rights, it'll be men as well," she said. When asked about whether asylum seekers needed housing somewhere, Bailey replied: "I hate to use the word camps, but they should provide secure places that these people can live in until they are deported or granted asylum." Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC Image caption, Diana Bailey questioned whether it would be only women and babies who would live at the Leverington site McCourt said part of his concern was that his child might be in a school "next door" to where asylum seekers were living. "I've got to worry about my child and not be able to come home and protect her because I'm working 60 miles away," he said. When asked by a BBC reporter about crime statistics that showed "women and girls are most at risk from the men that they live with", McCourt replied: "That's my interview over." Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire, and Barnham, Suffolk, have both also raised concerns about turning nearby military bases into asylum accommodation - showing the protesters at Leverington are not alone in their fears. Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below. Get in touch Your Voice Contact form Contact form Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds , Facebook , external , Instagram , external and X , external . Related topics Fenland District Council Wisbech Cambridgeshire Stephen Barclay Refugees and asylum seekers Home Office UK immigration Migration More on this story Will another village 'roar' over asylum plans? 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