Amidst the shockwaves created by Piddington’s symbolic independence referendum this week, it was actually an Essex village that provided inspiration for the campaigners’ revolt.
On the eve of the vote to secede from the UK, chair of Piddington Parish Council and orchestrator of “The Village That Roared” campaign, Tim McNally visited Wethersfield in Essex.
The village sits just a few miles from MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF base, used to house asylum seekers since 2023. It can accommodate up to 1,245 male migrants.
McNally said in a TV appearance after his visit that what he had seen had “dismayed” him, citing unbearable noise levels coming from the site, and stories of men roaming the streets at night.
The i Paper spent the day in Wethersfield to hear from the community about the reality of life in the village.
‘Perceived threats of what could happen are enough’
It’s undeniable: the village is a picture of quintessential England.
An ancient church opposite a village green, surrounded by quiet streets with only the occasional dog-walker in sight.
It’s hard to reconcile this idyllic reality with the descriptions of groups of intimidating men and egregious noise pollution.
But Tony Clarke-Holland, deputy chair of local residents group the Fields Association who opposed plans for MDP Wethersfield, said: “Of course we deal with noise a lot, there are hundreds of people in there so there’s bound to be noise. We can often hear them when they’re out playing sport.
“One man was walking past my house the other day with music playing loudly on speakerphone. I leaned out of the window and told him to stop, and to be fair he was apologetic, but he’d passed several houses before he got to mine.”
Tony Clarke-Holland, deputy chair of local residents group the Fields Association, outside RAF Wethersfield, in Essex (Photo: PA Images/Alamy)A common argument against sites like MDP Wethersfield is the concern for the safety of women and children, a worry Clarke-Holland said he shares.
“I haven’t personally seen anything happen towards women here, but it’s the perceived threat of what could happen, that’s enough,” he said.
‘None of us asked for this’
This is a well-trodden path in the debate about where to house asylum seekers, with Piddington residents quoting the proximity of the site boundary to its play park as a clear demonstration of the danger of the plans.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “None of us asked for this, we weren’t consulted about what we thought or what we wanted. It’s just unfair.
“If they were detained, at least it wouldn’t be causing so much worry for the village, particularly the women.”
Linton Action Group, a residents association in Linton-on-Ouse, in North Yorkshire, echo the perceived threat of installing a large number of men in their community.
A former RAF base near the village could house up to 600 migrants.
Spokesman for the group, Martin Stevenson said: “It would be different if it were families, but 1,250 men arriving in the community is a real safety concern. It would be if it were 1,250 men from any background, just looking at the crime data.”
Though the issue of crime sits right at the heart of every conversation, Clarke-Holland admits that much of this is driven by rumour.
Accommodation units are pictured at Wethersfield migrant camp (Photo: Carl Court/ Getty Images)“It’s true that a lot of what we know is based on rumours. They come from our own community and others, and sometimes from the people who work in the asylum centre, but really no-one wants to give out the real information.”
‘We believe in democracy’
Despite villages like Wethersfield, Linton and Piddington standing together in their campaigns, not everyone shares McNally’s enthusiasm for cutting ties with the UK.
Stevenson said: “Anyone faced with this would do whatever they possibly can. The community in Piddington have done an amazing job of raising the profile of their village and making sure their residents are heard.
“But we certainly won’t be following Piddington’s example and trying to break away from the UK.“We have faith in British democracy, and we feel sure that if the Home Secretary accepts our invitation to come and see what Linton is actually like, then she will come to the same conclusion that this plan should be scrapped.”
‘We’re tired now – we just get on with it’
Wethersfield, it seems, has lost its taste for any such drastic action.
“There’s so much fatigue here now,” said Clarke-Holland. “We know we need to get on with these people, and we need to try and make it work.
“The reality is that whatever happens in Piddington or Linton-on-Ouse or anywhere else that has to deal with this, it becomes your new normal. You adapt.”
A campaign banner displayed in fields near the former Weathersfield air base in 2023 (Phot: Martin Pope/Getty Images)Another resident, who did not want to be named, also said villagers are “going into the base and running English classes”.
“I think there’s even a cricket team that have started playing against the men in there in their league. So yes, some people are trying to integrate with them a bit more.”
From the outside, that’s exactly what it looks like in the little Essex village today.
Far from the simmering presence of threat and misery painted by McNally’s emphatic description, almost four years on from its own vehement campaigning, Wethersfield seems to have found some calm.
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