'Our town is safe - prove it needs private patrols'
John Fairhall/BBCA district council leader has hit out at new private security patrols, saying they risk "increasing concern or reinforcing inaccurate perceptions" of his area.
The patrols have been introduced by Reform UK-led Essex County Council in Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford - towns that asylum seekers accommodated at nearby MDP Wethersfield frequently visit.
The council said the initiative was launched in direct response to concerns raised by residents and would "deter anti-social behaviour".
Braintree District Council's Conservative leader, Tom Cunningham, said the town was a safe place and called on the county council to provide evidence that patrols were "justified or requested".
Operation Vanguard - as it has been dubbed by the county council - began on Monday and will provide two guards in each of the three towns, seven days a week, from 10:00 to 18:00.
Hundreds of men have been housed at the Wethersfield site since 2023 and some are bussed into the three towns to access services not available at the base.
Braintree District Council has been opposed to the use of the former MoD site since it was first proposed.
Since 2023 it has lost an appeal against it and in 2024 withdrew from a Judicial Review appeal after the Home Office laid a Special Development Order (SDO) in parliament.
Cunningham said: "We remain firmly opposed to the use of Wethersfield as an asylum accommodation centre.
"The site is unsuitable, it should not have been imposed on our district, and it should close as soon as possible.
"We are also lobbying the Home Office to stop the trips to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford."
Braintree District CouncilHowever, while MDP Wethersfield remained open, Cunningham said any response "must be careful, proportionate and evidence-led".
"The available information does not support any suggestion that Braintree town centre is unsafe or that a separate private security presence has been requested or justified by local partners," he said.
"Town centre crime is lower than it was three years ago, police have their own dedicated Wethersfield funding, and crime linked to the site has been described as 'very low'.
"There is also already significant day-to-day partnership work taking place between the council, Essex Police, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and other agencies to keep Braintree safe."
He said he had asked Essex County Council to fully explain why they felt Braintree needed private security.
"In a sensitive situation, what is needed is co-operation, clear evidence and calm leadership - not action that risks increasing concern or reinforcing inaccurate perceptions about Braintree," he added.
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Peter Harris, leader of the county council, maintained that Operation Vanguard was "a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now regarding the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield to Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford".
He added: "Concerns for community safety are clearly there, particularly among women and girls, because of the daily gatherings of asylum seekers - gatherings which will increase in number and size as the facility expands."
MDP Wethersfield is used to house single male migrants aged between 18 and 65 and the number of occupants looks set to rise from about 800 to 1,220.
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