A large accommodation barge, the Bibby Stockholm, which will house hundreds of asylum seekers, has left its berth in Cornwall's Falmouth and is en route to the South Coast port of Portland.
Tug boats were seen moving the vessel out to sea on Monday morning. Under the Home Office's plan to alleviate pressure on the asylum system, the barge will serve as a temporary home for up to 500 single adult male asylum seekers. However, the plans have sparked protests, with residents in Portland objecting due to lack of consultation and concerns about the impact on local services. Campaigners have raised worries about living conditions and argued that using the barge will not save money.
Last week, Dorset councillor Laura Beddow expressed concerns about the siting of the barge in Portland Port and stated that the council had serious reservations. However, it was advised that legal action was unlikely to succeed. The Bibby Stockholm has 222 rooms and is contracted to be berthed in Portland for an initial period of 18 months. It has been prepared for its role in Falmouth and will be the first time migrants have been housed in a berthed vessel in the UK.
The government's aim is to reduce the cost of accommodating asylum seekers, with approximately 51,000 currently housed in hotels across the UK, incurring a daily cost of £6 million to taxpayers. The Bibby Stockholm, previously used to house homeless people and asylum seekers in Germany and the Netherlands, has been refurbished and now features en-suite rooms, a TV and games room, and a gym.
Dorset Council leader Spencer Flower mentioned that other local authorities in different areas of the country had successfully obtained temporary injunctions against similar plans based on planning laws. However, legal advice indicated that there were insufficient grounds for a challenge in Dorset. The Home Office stated that using vessels as alternative accommodation, as other European countries have done, would offer better value for taxpayers and be more manageable for communities compared to costly hotels. The government officials are working closely with local partners to prepare for the arrival of asylum seekers and to minimize disruption for local residents, including providing substantial financial support. Photo by pl:Wikipedysta:MaciejKa, Wikimedia commons.