The UK Government has stated that it continues to look at ‘all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation’ for asylum seekers, as once again the Home Office has been linked to the former Ministry of Defence site at Penally Camp.

Penally Community Council learnt towards the end of last year, that both Penally Camp and firing range were to permanently close, sparking speculation as to who may purchase the site, which was was repurposed as temporary accommodation by the Home Office to hold asylum seekers from September 2020 until March 21 the following year, during Covid lockdowns.

Eventually, the training camp returned to MoD control, following a damning inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the independent chief inspector of Borders and Immigration, which highlighted the environment as being “rundown”, “impoverished” and “unsuitable for long-term accommodation”.

The Chair of Penally Community Council, Cllr Sarah Snow, said towards the end of 2022 “We appreciate the firing range and camp may no longer be suitable for use by the MoD, however local people will be rightly concerned about the future of this land.

“We will therefore continue to work closely with Phil Kidney, our county councillor, to ensure that local people are kept informed and would welcome further communication from the MoD for the same reason.”

Pembrokeshire County Council has moved this week to comment on speculation surrounding the site, with a spokesperson telling the Observer: “The Council is aware that there have been some rumours over the future of the Penally Camp and we have contacted the Ministry of Defence (not the Home Office) as to what their plans may be for the site.

“We understand that at this stage there is no intended use for Penally Camp in the near future.

“We had a meeting with the MoD in December 2022 to discuss the future of the military training facility at Penally Camp – and to understand their intentions for the site. 

“We have asked to be kept informed but to-date, we understand that no decision on the future of the camp has been reached,” they added.

After contacting the Home Office to seek clarification on whether the organisation was interested in acquiring the land, a Government spokesperson told the Observer: “The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels due to the unacceptable rise in small boat arrivals and our commitment to accommodate those from Afghanistan.

“We therefore continue to look at all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation.”

Offering further background on their policy, the Government stated that it did not routinely comment on individual sites that may or may not be used for bridging or asylum accommodation.

“We are going to introduce legislation which will ensure that people arriving in the UK illegally are detained and swiftly removed to another country.

“Every day the hotel bill for accommodating more than 45,500 asylum seekers and over 9,200 Afghans is £6.8 million and the British public rightly expect that we reduce these costs as quickly as possible.”

County Councillor for the wards of Penally and Manorbier, Cllr Phil Kidney told the Observer: “On the camp front, nothing has changed. It has not been purchased by the MoD, but is still being offered to other military groups.

“My personal view is they [the Home Office] won’t purchase the site, because surely they would have stayed put the last time, as the accommodation problem they face, has only got worse. As I say, that’s my view,” he added.

Last week it was reported by The Guardian and BBC that asylum seekers would not be housed in a Pontins holiday park outside Southport, Merseyside, after speculation that the facility was being looked at by the Home Office as an alternative to hotels in which to house asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be assessed.

A spokesperson for Sefton Council told the BBC: “We have been informed that the Home Office no longer wishes to pursue plans to house asylum seekers at the Pontins site in Ainsdale. We are awaiting written confirmation of this decision,”

The authority is understood to have raised a number of objections, including the logistics of accessing the site and the impact on tourism.

Government ministers have stated that they are keen to end the reliance on hotels to house asylum seekers, with immigration minister Robert Jenrick hunting for larger alternative sites that would be cheaper, including former university accommodation, holiday parks such as Pontins, and surplus military sites.

But the Home Office’s first attempt to set up such a centre, at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, in North Yorkshire, stalled after local opposition and the threat of legal challenges.