More asylum seekers will be able to stay at a centre near Braintree, government officials have confirmed.
The Wethersfield Asylum Reception Centre will see an increase of beds from the current capacity of 580.
Following a meeting between parish councils and the Home Office, the increase was announced last Friday.
A Home Office spokesman said: “This Government inherited an asylum system in chaos, with asylum accommodation under unprecedented strain.
“As part of our commitment to end the use of hotels, we are increasing capacity at Wethersfield to 800 beds.
"Reducing hotel use will minimise the impact asylum seekers have on our local communities and services, and help cut the astronomical cost of asylum accommodation.
“We continue to work closely with local community leaders in Braintree on our plans for the Wethersfield site, and ensuring the safety and security of that local community remains our first priority."
The changes mean two weekly intakes per week of 60 asylum seekers will arrive at Wethersfield.
A letter distributed by Wethersfield Parish Council says there are currently 20 asylum seekers leaving the facility a week as their claims are processed and it is expected that to get to full capacity will take around eight weeks in total.
Wethersfield Parish Council says it will continue to monitor the situation and has requested government reports to track the decisions made.
The council says the Home Office has agreed to deal with the requests in the manner of a Freedom of Information request, with a response expected within 20 days.
In a statement, the council said: “The parish council are disappointed by the Home Office reluctance to be open and transparent about the satisfying of its conditions, which should not be treated as an FOI request as this information should be in the public domain.
“The parish council continue to pressure government to close the asylum centre at RAF Wethersfield.”
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