Asylum seekers will begin to be housed at a former RAF base in Essex from Wednesday morning, Sky News understands.
Ministers unveiled plans back in March to use Wethersfield Airfield to accommodate up to 1,700 male asylum seekers for up to 180 days each in an attempt to reduce the amount the government spends on hotels.
The scheme led to a backlash from the local authority and some residents, with Braintree Council launching a legal challenge against the move.
But attempts to block the plans failed, and Sky News now understands the first arrivals will be on site tomorrow morning.
The news also comes after Sky News revealed around 18 Army families had been given just a week’s notice to move off the site, saying they had been “railroaded” into vacating the base.
