Portland prepares to support hundreds of asylum seekers living on barge

A Dorset Councillor says a number of groups on Portland are getting ready to support up to 506 asylum seekers who may soon be accommodated there.

The Bibby Stockholm barge is set to come to Portland this summer and will house people for a year and a half, with the Home Office paying the council £3,500 per occupied bed.

The decision has been controversial, with many residents of Portland campaigning against it.

Dorset Council opposed the idea when it was first proposed, but had to give way to the Home Office.

The barge will house 506 asylum seekers for a year and a half. Credit: PA Images

Despite this, Cllr Paul Kimber, who represents Portland on Dorset Council, said groups on the island are getting ready to help.

He said: "Church groups, faith groups, community groups and I've even met international workers who live on the island who will be working with the refugees as well to deal with the many issues and problems that they have."

Cllr Kimber also said he understands people's concerns about the barge.

He said: "We are ill-equipped on the island. However, nobody comes from seven, eight thousand miles, leaving home from war-torn countries, to come to this country for that actual reason, so we’ve got to make sure that we give every bit of assistance we can within their rights."

However, residents like Martine Sommers say they will continue to fight the plans. She said: "We don’t have enough doctors, we don’t have enough pharmacies - we have two pharmacies on the island and generally there just isn’t the infrastructure here to suddenly add 500 extra people to our population."