Army site still housing Afghan families

An army camp that was adapted as a short-term home for Afghan families, who escaped the Taliban in 2023, is still being used, it has emerged.

Up to 200 families and individuals moved to the base at Nesscliffe in Shropshire in 2023, under the Government's Afghan resettlement programme.

It was designed to help those who'd assisted the UK mission in Afghanistan and Shropshire Council said in November 2023 they were only expected to stay for six weeks.

The authority said there have been no arrivals since Feb 2025 and attempts to find suitable homes for six remaining families were continuing.

When the families moved in, people living in the area had raised concerns about people walking on the narrow lanes around Nesscliffe and about the lack of facilities.

When approached again by the BBC, the council said "no end date was confirmed, only that the site was to be used temporally, as needed".

After the last families leave, it will be returned to Ministry of Defence (MoD) use.

The council has confirmed the camp had been funded by the government and the authority has not received any money to use the camp.

The MoD said the UK had "a moral obligation to resettle Afghans eligible under the Afghan Resettlement Programme" to get them "away from the threat of the Taliban".

It said Nesscliffe was "an important staging post for Afghans when they first arrive in the UK" and thanked local residents for helping the families "feel welcome, valued, and part of the community".

"It is clear that the Defence Estate is not the long-term solution to housing requirements for all Afghan resettlement schemes," the MoD confirmed.

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.