PENALLY COMMUNITY COUNCIL says it has discovered that both Penally camp and firing range are to permanently close in the near future.
The Chair of Penally Community Council, Cllr Sarah Snow said has asked the MoD to make a formal announcement to the local community and provide further information, however this is yet to happen.
Cllr Sarah Snow said this week: “We appreciate the firing range and camp may no longer be suitable for use by the MoD, however local people will be rightly concerned about the future of this land.
“We will therefore continue to work closely with Phil Kidney, our county councillor, to ensure that local people are kept informed and would welcome further communication from the MoD for the same reason”.
Amongst a lot of controversy, Penally Camp was used to hold asylum seekers from September 2020 until March 21, 2021.
Asylum seekers were no longer sent to Penally Camp following an inspection that stated the conditions in the camp were “rundown”, “impoverished” and “unsuitable for long-term accommodation”.
An asylum seeker who was housed at the camp said living there was the “worst thing to happen to me” since he left Syria.
The former Masters student also claimed he was shouted at by some staff.
Clearsprings Group, which managed the site on behalf of the Home Office, said at the time that the company was “very concerned” by the accusations.
He said his health suffered because of “poor conditions” at the camp, including having no heating in his room for more than a fortnight.
“We couldn’t sleep because we were six in the room, without privacy, without comfort, with a lot of noise,” he said.
