- The petition had 1,143 signatures on November 9, 2026.
- Whittingdale described the village as having about 1,200 residents.
- The department says it plans to close every asylum hotel by the end of this Parliament.
By November 10, 2026, the Home Office had proposed housing up to six asylum seekers in one property in Tillingham, prompting opposition from Maldon’s council leader and two Essex MPs. The village and prospective occupants are at the centre of the dispute. The plan remains contested.
The department says it is moving people into alternative accommodation, including former military sites, and will work with local authorities and police to reduce effects on surrounding communities. It has also confirmed a direct reply to ward councillor Matthew Neall.
The accommodation falls under the National Asylum Dispersal Programme. The department approved procurement of the property, involving accommodation provider Clearsprings Ready Homes, and informed Maldon District Council. The plan concerns a single home.
Council leader Simon Morgan wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, arguing the rural location lacks reliable transport and services that people placed there may need. The council had raised concerns about isolation, limited transport, access to services and integration.
The council and residents question the village’s suitability
Morgan said the council can make representations but does not decide which properties the department uses. He said the authority would keep monitoring the situation while awaiting answers to its questions.
Neall separately urged the government to reverse the decision. He said the location was wrong both for prospective occupants and residents, and raised concerns about everyone’s safety and wellbeing. He has asked to meet the Home Secretary or a minister. The department confirmed it replied directly to him.
Residents have also backed a petition seeking a pause and a review of the location. It had 1,143 signatures when counted on November 9, 2026. The petition says it is about the suitability of the site and the welfare of everyone affected, not individual people seeking asylum.
Whittingdale and Patel give different reasons for opposing the location
Maldon MP Sir John Whittingdale asked the Home Secretary to reverse the decision. He described the village as having about 1,200 residents, few facilities and limited bus services, with Maldon 14 miles away. He argued that people without a car would struggle to reach services and that the setting offered few opportunities for newly arrived families to integrate.
Whittingdale also raised the possibility that placements could include children with limited English. He said the local school is small and lacks specialist language staff. He warned that people arriving would be highly visible and pointed to protests and disorder around asylum accommodation elsewhere in Essex.
“I believe that this is fundamentally mistaken and against the interests of both local residents and those being placed there.”
The MP said the village had no community with which a newly arrived family could integrate. He argued the government should reduce illegal arrivals and remove people with no right to remain, rather than place people in isolated locations lacking services.
Witham MP Dame Priti Patel also called the site inappropriate. She said Essex already accommodates a sizeable number of asylum seekers and backed the council’s call for a review. Patel linked the growth in accommodation to the government’s refusal to send people to a third country such as Rwanda, and criticized the use of family homes as houses in multiple occupation.
The department says it will work with local authorities and police
The department says it is moving people into alternative accommodation, including former military sites, as part of efforts to reduce the impact on local communities. It also says it will engage with councils and police forces. Those commitments form its stated response to local concerns.
The department has not publicly detailed its answers to the council’s specific questions. Maldon District Council says it is waiting for a response and will continue monitoring the situation. That reply is the next step residents and representatives are watching.
