After the eviction of Chagossians in the 1960s, the only inhabitants are US and British military personnel and associated contractorsThe Crawley Borough Council leader has written to the government regarding the decision to grant British citizenship to people of Chagossian descentA government spokesman said it continued to work with the council to prepare for potential arrivals in the areaA council leader has written to the government for a third time over the decision to grant British...
Crawley Borough Council leader Michael Jones has warned that more arrivals could cause bankruptcy for the authority. About 6,600 Chagossians have applied for British citizenship since the application process opened in November last year, and a community of 3,000 are already settled in Crawley, the council said.
“If the council is required to provide housing, it would likely result in CBC being forced into issuing a section 114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy,” he said.The council warned that 100 households arriving in the town without housing would cost £2.73m per year in temporary accommodation costs – 20% of the council’s net revenue budget.