"Operation Vanguard" - Reform Essex

 A three-month trial placing private security operatives in the town and city centres of Colchester, Chelmsford and Braintree. The stated aim is a visible presence to reassure residents and deter anti-social behaviour as the Home Office expands the nearby Wethersfield asylum accommodation site.

The announcement, made on 28 August 2026 by council leader Cllr Peter Harris, comes days after Harris visited the former RAF base. Reform UK took control of Essex County Council in May 2026, ending 25 years of Conservative rule.

What the scheme involves

Operation Vanguard will put security staff into the three centres closest to Wethersfield. Reports indicate two operatives per location. The county council is contracting a private firm; the cost to council taxpayers has not been disclosed. The initial contract lasts three months as a trial. Essex Police will be informed of issues that arise. Partners including Essex Police, Braintree District Council, Colchester City Council and Chelmsford City Council are to be consulted.

Harris described it as “a positive and proportionate response to the concerns residents have been raising for many months now regarding the daily bussing of asylum seekers from Wethersfield.” He highlighted worries “particularly among women and girls, because of the daily gatherings of asylum seekers – gatherings which will increase in number and size as the facility expands.” He criticised the site’s induction process as “woefully inadequate, especially on their introduction to British culture and the expectations we have of acceptable behaviour toward to women and girls.”

The council also wants urgent talks with the Home Office and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood about extra resources for local public services. Harris questioned whether daily trips into the towns are justified given what is already provided on site.

The Wethersfield site

MDP Wethersfield, a former RAF airfield near Halstead, has housed single adult male asylum seekers since July 2023. It is currently home to around 800 men and is the largest such mass accommodation site in the UK. In June 2026 the Home Office confirmed it would raise standard capacity from 800 to 1,245 and seek to keep the site open beyond the existing April 2027 planning permission. Some reports mention a possible further rise toward 1,700.

The Home Office runs a shuttle service — described by Harris as a fleet of 17 minibuses — taking residents into Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford. The government presents the site as relatively self-contained, with on-site facilities including sports areas, laundry, healthcare and 24/7 security. Residents undergo screening against police, security and immigration databases.

The site was first used under the previous Conservative government as part of efforts to reduce hotel use. Labour has continued and expanded that approach while closing hotels.

Crime figures and the official position

Essex Police figures reported in April 2026 showed 15 recorded crimes since July 2023 in which a Wethersfield resident was the alleged perpetrator and a member of the public the alleged victim. One of those was in Braintree (an allegation of urinating in public). Local politicians have said the numbers do not capture the full effect on how residents feel.

The Home Office has acknowledged community concern about crime but said there is “no evidence” that men from the site disproportionately affect crime or anti-social behaviour levels. A spokesperson framed the wider policy as closing asylum hotels and moving people into alternative sites, including former military bases, while claiming asylum support numbers and costs are falling.

Why it matters

Operation Vanguard is being presented as a first of its kind by a council: using local taxpayers’ money for private street security specifically in response to an expanding Home Office asylum site and the daily movement of its residents into nearby centres. Supporters see it as the council acting where national government has not. Critics are likely to argue that six guards across three town centres is modest, that recorded crime linked to the site remains low, and that the move risks stigmatising a group already subject to screening and on-site security.

The trial will test whether a visible private presence changes behaviour or simply reassures some residents. The deeper dispute — over the scale of Wethersfield, the shuttle buses, induction and who should pay for any extra local impact — will continue between County Hall and the Home Office.