Waterlooville protest against plans for migrant housing in the town centre

The anti-migrant protest saw local residents joined by campaigners, including the group Portsmouth Patriots, to share their opposition to proposals for flats above shops in precinct to be used to providing temporary housing to 35 people awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications.

The protest comes as the Home Office and its agent Clearsprings holds an official consultation with Havant Borough Council over the suitability of the accommodation. It comes as part of a wider bid to reduce the numbers of migrants being temporarily housed in hotels and disperse people equally across the country - a policy of successive governments.

The Home Office has said the accommodation is “best suited for the use of couples, or single parents with young children. There is one single flat which would most likely be utilised for a single adult female”, though campaigners have expressed fears that instead they would be occupied by single men.

Fareham and Waterlooville MP Suella Braverman has previously dubbed the plans “utterly inappropriate” and has organised a petition which she said had been signed by 10,000 people. Havant MP Alan Mak has also added his opposition with his own petition. Both have urged the council to formally oppose the plans.

The protesters, which included groups of children, chanted ‘send them home’ and 'whose streets? Out streets!' with Havant Borough Council criticised for not knowing about the proposals until learning about it in the media after Suella Braverman raised the issue.

Havant Borough Council has since said that this was because Clearsprings failed to contact it correctly, instead it emailed an outside contractor who no longer works for the council and failed to follow up when it received no response.

To see and hear from the protest watch the video embedded in this story - *warning, contains strong language

One campaigner told the gathered crowds this evening: “The Labour-led Havant Borough Council and the government want to silence descent. They’ll brand our ordinary community members as racist, far-right or ignorant, simply for asking questions and standing up for our community.

“This is our town, this is our community and we will stand our ground. Waterlooville says no.”

Meanwhile Suella Brverman has issued a damning letter to Yvette Cooper, calling on the Government to immediately scrap plans its Waterlooville plans and instead to reinstate the previous government’s Rwanda deportation plan.

Urging the Home Secretary to ‘change course and stop the invasion’, Suella said: “I urge you to change course, re-start the deal with Rwanda so these men can be swiftly detained and deported. That is real action that the people of Waterlooville and the United Kingdom could support.”

In her letter, Mrs Braverman said that even if the housing were for woman and children it would still cause a strain on local services.

She added that she was aware of concerns raised by Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones, especially in the light of recent anti-migrant protests elsewhere in Hampshire including in Southsea.

Mrs Braverman said: “I am also supporting the objections of Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones, who has said: “Housing migrants in Waterlooville risks sparking serious community tensions which echo the regular protests seen across Hampshire. Any counter and pro demonstrations will stretch already limited police resources.

“So far, the Home Office has failed to provide the funding needed to manage protests. It is impossible to expect the police to manage protests and carry out their day to day core function with no additional support.”

Mrs Braverman was not at this evening’s protest, but said in a statement that she was ‘really proud of the good people of Waterlooville tonight’.

She said: “Thousands of peaceful protestors came out to make it clear to the government and Havant Borough Council that we say no. Thank you to the police for keeping everyone safe. And to thank you to everyone who, peacefully, is standing up for our country. Enough is enough.”

The official Home Office consultation closes Friday, August 1, with residents urged to contact their local MPs to express their views.

The proposal comes at a time when efforts are being made by Havant Borough Council to regenerate the town centre. However plans for a regeneration meeting this evening to discuss the progress of the project was postponed until September.