A petition against a home for asylum seeker children has collected more than 600 signatures demanding a new venue is found.
A resident, who did not want to be named, believes the proposals to house 50 unaccompanied asylum seekers at the former care home at The Limes in Brent Lane, Dartford would add “fuel to the fire” to an area which is already “not a nice place anymore”.
The site, which has previously provided a home for “troubled” children is close to two primary schools, a secondary school and two parks, which residents feel make it the wrong place to site the home.
Residents feel their children could be at risk by the occupants of the new Reception Centre who they said “we know nothing about”.
Kent County Council has said it will have “stringent security and safeguarding controls in place.”
One neighbour said: “All those adolescent males in one place is going to be like a gang.
“They will have no money, no jobs and nothing to do so they will just be left to roam the local community and congregate at the local parks and that can only lead to trouble.
“It’s going to lead to antisocial behaviour. There is so much trouble in the area already it is just going to make it worse.”
Kent County Council confirmed the Reception Centre will house under 18-year-olds but it will be on a temporary basis and they will be supervised at all times.
KCC Leader Roger Gough, said: “On July 27 the high court ruled that Kent County Council must take every possible step to increase its capacity to accommodate and look after all Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UAS Children) arriving in Kent to fully comply with its statutory Children Act 1989 duties and end the unlawful use of hotels managed by the Home Office.
“Currently, the council’s two existing Reception Centres provide temporary accommodation and care for UAS Children whilst they await transfer to other local authorities under the National Transfer Scheme (NTS).
“New arrivals of UAS Children into KCC care dramatically increased following the ruling and, although the council has continued to work hard to accommodate them safely, the existing provision is unable to sustainably cope with demand and additional, suitable temporary accommodation is needed at pace to meet the requirements of the High Court ruling and to ensure the ongoing safe care of UAS children.
“As required by the Court, KCC has been working closely with the Home Office on the provision of appropriate levels of accommodation to meet the required anticipated need. As part of this, in addition to the current provision and other accommodation discussions which continue, work is commencing at two of these properties to ensure that they are compliant with Ofsted regulations.
‘There is so much trouble in the area already it is just going to make it worse’
“It is expected that any new provision will be wholly funded by Central Government and will not present an additional burden on Kent taxpayers.
“As with existing Reception Centres, they will be run by KCC employees and will have stringent security and safeguarding controls in place. They will only provide temporary accommodation and care for UAS Children until they are transferred to another UK local authority.
“By bringing these properties into use as new Reception Centres, the council believes it will be able to meet the requirements of the court ruling and its statutory duties under the Children’s Act 1989.”
Dartford MP Gareth Johnson has also slammed the proposal, describing the area as “totally unsuitable”.
The Tory backbencher said: “I have informed the leader of KCC that the Limes is totally unsuitable for this kind of usage due to the residential nature of its location.
“I have also met with the Immigration Minister twice to express this view. Ultimately, the decision is one for KCC and I hope, even at this late stage, they change their position.”
Children are expected to start arriving at the centre in April.
