Parish council chair accuses Andy Bum-em's team of pushing the plan through with zero warning

The village of Piddington, home to just 350 people, has been earmarked to take in 1,250 migrants at a former MoD base that currently has no water, electricity, or housing set up. There's no shop, pub, or local amenities either. The plan is being rolled out before the basic infrastructure is even in place.

Tim McNally, chair of the Piddington Parish Council, says the Government pushed this decision through with no consultation and before any security review had taken place. He describes Piddington as the "tip of the spear" for a much wider rollout, a test case for how these decisions get made nationwide, with no input from the people actually affected.

According to McNally, preparations were already underway before residents were told anything official. Pods are being moved in next week, utilities go live from September 1st, and he says he's finding out these details from the media rather than from the Government directly.

Site A, Piddington.

He also raised concerns based on another site at Wethersfield, where he says similar migrants have been seen walking through residents' property in the early hours, and questioned whether Piddington locals will now need to take extra security measures of their own.

On the numbers, McNally was blunt: a fair, proportional share for a village this size would mean two or three people, not twelve hundred. Taking in 1,250 migrants represents a 350% increase to the village's population overnight. He says the issue isn't refusing to help, it's whether a change this drastic can realistically work without seriously straining the area.

The village has scheduled a self-determination referendum for September 15th in protest.

Meme by @ItsOnlyHugo on X explaining the size difference in players.

A Home Office spokesperson said discussions about the site are still in the early stages and will include engagement with local stakeholders, adding that spreading migrants across sites like this takes pressure off poorer communities that are currently housing large numbers of asylum seekers in hotels.