A Kent MP is calling for plans to convert a former care home into a facility for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be reversed.

Dr Lauren Sullivan, the new Labour MP for Gravesham, has told the Home Secretary there are “considerable and understandable tensions” in the community about Kent County Council's (KCC) plans to convert Edward Moore House.

Recently, a protest took place with around 80 people campaigning against the controversial plans to temporarily house 50 people aged 16 and 17 in the care home.

In April, KCC wrote to residents in the area to inform them of its proposals for the facility in Trinity Road.

The letter said the site will only be used for children under the age of 16 until they can move to a permanent home elsewhere.

But, the “lack of consultation” and already struggling services is why Dr Sullivan is joining residents and Gravesham Borough Council (GBC) in calls to scrap the plans.

Concerns have also been raised over the home's proximity to the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in nearby Saddington Street following a recent attack.

Two people were injured after a suspect armed with a blade entered the Gurdwara on July 11.

Nobody was seriously injured during the incident, but two women required medical attention for cuts and bruises.

A 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder leaving the whole community in a “state of shock”.

In her letter to Yvette Copper, she explained: “With ongoing community tensions in the news, I am writing about an issue that has come about through no fault of Gravesham residents but is causing considerable and understandable tensions within the local community.

“The administration at KCC has recently purchased a former care home 'Edward Moore House’ and has decided, with no community consultation or consent from either the public, or, from the relevant local authority GBC who have stated they are against it, to transform this into a home for 16 to 18 year old asylum seekers without the necessary infrastructure, while awaiting transfer under the national transfer scheme.

“This home is located very close to the above mentioned Gurdwara, and a local school.

“The lack of consultation combined with the crisis in social care, a lack of social, council and affordable housing due to policy decisions over decades and pressures on our NHS including primary care, have now caused tensions and additional distrust due to this policy in the community.

“Concerns raised by residents and the Gurdwara Committee have largely been ignored by KCC and this is very much a case of KCC doing to the community rather than doing with.

“I am aware that this policy and for example the use of companies to outsource some of this work such as to Clearsprings was started by your predecessors, but we now have a chance to do things right including through the new Border Security Command.

“In representing residents, both myself, first in my role as a County Councillor and now as the local Member of Parliament, as well as GBC have consistently been against this.

“While I appreciate that the previous Government supported this approach and it may be too late, as Home Secretary I am requesting that the Home Office, through you, ensure that work is undertaken to take steps to address these concerns with Kent County Council in the hope that this decision by KCC can be reversed, and that any such decisions that impact the community in future should have the consent of the local community.

“As this is of such interest to many members of my constituency, I am publishing this letter and |look forward to your response.”

Edward Moore House was chosen after the owners of Ocean Heights Residential Home, in Minster, pulled out of a deal to sell it to KCC to house UAS children.

The former care home, which closed down in 2022, will provide up to 36 places for UAS children and is due to open next month.

The leader of Gravesham council, Cllr John Burden, previously criticised the proposals stating Edward Moore House is “the wrong choice and in the wrong place”.

However, the leader of KCC, Roger Gough, has said it must take “every possible step” to care for all UAS children by securing new reception centres across the county of which there are “extremely limited suitable properties available.”

So far, the council has acquired seven new reception centres where the youngsters will stay temporarily whilst they wait to be transferred to another local authority.

He added: “It is regrettable that we were not able to share KCC’s plans in full for the reception centres ahead of time.

“The necessity to comply with the urgency of the court ruling, and the need to quickly identify suitable accommodation for children who continue to arrive in Kent in record numbers, means it has not been possible for KCC to consult with residents in ways it might normally, and would prefer to do.

“We are committed to keeping residents informed and have held meetings with local stakeholders and updated the local community via letters and our website.

“We are continuing to challenge the government to get the national transfer scheme (NTS) working appropriately to ensure all local authorities in the UK take on their responsibility for the care of UAS children now.

“We are hopeful that the government will now reform the NTS, so that KCC is not required to operate such a disproportionately large number of reception centres in one small part of the country.

“For far too long KCC has been expected to shoulder this large and disproportionate burden to accommodate and care for every UAS child (even on a temporary basis) by itself, simply because of its location on the shortest crossing from Europe.

“This has meant that Kent has effectively been required to find solutions for a national problem, dictated by global migration patterns, within the very limited resources and tools available to a county council.

“Following the recent general election, I invited the new Secretary of State for the Home Department and Secretary of State for Education to visit Kent to see the great work our staff are doing to safeguard the welfare of UAS children and the very real challenges we continue to face in doing so.

“We have an opportunity now to make positive and long-lasting changes, particularly to get the NTS working, and it is my hope that this can be done outside of court processes that we have had to resort to most recently.”