ANOTHER UK village debates independence vote over plan for 1,250 migrants at RAF base – days after Piddington referendum

ANOTHER UK village is debating holding an independence vote over plans to house more than 1,000 migrants on a nearby RAF base. Barnham in Suffolk is considering copying Piddington’s symbolic referendum just weeks after the Oxfordshire village voted to leave the UK. Locals are now considering holding a symbolic referendum to help their case Credit: Getty Residents have been protesting against the plans since they were announced in June Credit: PA Plans to house 1,250 male illegal migrants at MoD Bicester sparked the protest vote in Piddington. A whopping 285 villagers voted for “independence”, with just 26 against and one spoiled ballot on a turnout of almost 92 per cent. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Now, residents of Barnham are eyeing up a similar symbolic vote to focus public attention on a scheme that would see migrants housed on a nearby RAF base. John Bauer, 66, is one of the Barnham villagers who is considering following in Piddington’s footsteps. locals say the village does not have the facilities to accommodate the migrants Credit: Alamy More than 1,000 migrants could be housed at the RAF base outside of Barnham Credit: Alamy He told the Daily Mail: “They don’t care about the people of Barnham. “They [the government] don’t care that it will increase by two-and-a-half times the population of a village, with single men mostly of fighting age not contained within the site.” Protests have taken place outside RAF Barnham ever since controversial plans to house migrants on the base were announced in June. The scheme would also see immigrants placed at a site in Bicester and a third site in Linton-on-Ouse. Most read in The Sun A meeting between councillors in Norfolk and Home Office officials then revealed “a lot more” migrants could be housed at the facilities. The revelations led to violent disorder in the nearby village of Thetford, Norfolk, last month. Last week Barnham residents turned up in numbers outside the village hall to discuss their plans. It came the day after Piddington held its referendum to leave the UK. Mother-of-two Collette Skelly, 58, has lived in the village for 15 years and attended the meeting. She said: “At the moment, there is nothing on the news about Barnham. So Piddington had to do it as a publicity stunt to raise attention.” The villagers had previously attempted an approach involving planning issues and environmental problems to stall the Home Office proposals. With Barnham once used to store nuclear and chemical weapons, concerns were raised that the site could be contaminated and unsafe for housing migrants. Other concerns raised included the site being identified as a nesting ground for stone curlews, an endangered species of bird. Residents say they are concerned that the small village does not have the facilities to accommodate the migrants. Some raised concerns around safety with plans revealing all of the migrants housed at the site would be male. With the Home Office expected to announce its decision on the use of the site in autumn and migrants moved in before Christmas, residents of Barnham said they felt time was running out. Adrian Whittle, the leader of Reform UK at West Suffolk Council, has said he will support the village’s right to hold a referendum. Some locals have raised concerns about the symbolic vote however, worrying it may take away from their planning approach. Comment now