On Cameron Barracks

Cameron Barracks sits on the well known bus route on Old Perth Road that I am familiar with from my commutes to my local university. I’ve never actually been inside, I have never even looked at the gate of the place. Though I am familiar with the busy road (it’s lined with trees and greenery). It has however been the subject of much local media attention for the last 6-8 months both nationally (Guardian, BBC, The Times, the New York Times) and locally in publications like the Press and Journal and the Inverness Courier. Opposition to migrants in Britain has been broadcast across the internet too. Just today the Inverness Courier announced that the central government in London had decided to cancel plans to house 300 male migrants at the barracks. This was in response to opposition and potential legal action from the Highland Council and Inverness member of parliament Angus Macdonald. Mr Macdonald was quoted in a separate article in the Courier today too setting out some of the reasons why he opposed it. Since the news was announced I have had lots of conversations on the topic with colleagues, neighbors and friends. But the local debate is also part of a national debate that is going on in the UK and on the internet on sites like Youtube with right wing vloggers visiting the accommodation/hotels where migrants are living, filming and commenting. One prominent voice in opposition in the Inverness Courier today was that of Inverness Member of Parliament Angus MacDonald. He cited the inappropriateness of the location for housing the overwhelmingly male migrant population. The area is mostly residential, with military families in the area, close to schools (Millburn Academy) and hospitals (Raigmore) and also very close to Inverness town centre. Mr MacDonald also cited research that shows moving the migrants from hotels to military housing actually cost the taxpayers more. I will link the Inverness Courier article below. However other people I met also expressed strong opposition. One charity shop volunteer said that the site should be used to help local people, for example it could be turned into a youth centre rather than be used to house non locals. One phrase that sprang to mind as I was listening to her was ‘charity starts at home.’ This is a familiar criticism of locals who are often struggling to access services (housing, healthcare, education) themselves. Inverness has a bit of a housing crisis itself. Some locals worry that refugees would eventually take up scarce social housing in Inverness. In October 2025 the Press and Journal reported that there were 2239 people waiting for social housing in Inverness alone. In the first three quarters of the 2025/26 financial year, 1,062 people were registered as homeless across the Highland region. Another issue is the lack of school places with current schools oversubscribed. A report by the Courier in December 2024 found Charleston Academy is at 96 per cent capacity; Culloden (85 per cent); Inverness High (73 per cent); Inverness Royal Academy (94 per cent); and Millburn Academy (106 per cent). I know myself from phoning my GP surgery it’s often difficult to get an appointment. Migrants have access to the NHS while waiting for their claim to be decided on. NHS waiting lists at Raigmore and A&E wait times are longer than ever. Finally many locals worry about crime after some high profile national news stories involving foreign men. For example in July 2024 Rhiannon Whyte was killed by an asylum seeker at a railway station in Walsall in England. In July 2025 an Asylum seeker called Hadush Kebatu who lived in a hotel in Epping, England sexually assaulted a 14 year old girl. These cases are real and the fear they generate is understandable. But it is worth noting that the concerns in Inverness preceded any actual arrivals — the anxiety was about what might happen, not what had. Finally I spoke with my friend and long term resident, Martin (fake name). We talked about some of the issues around Cameron Barracks as we walked along the Ness River. Martin took a more idealistic approach. He said ‘we have an empty barracks that we should use to help people.’ He also pointed out as a responsible member of the international community we have international obligations to take asylum seekers anyway. He said ‘we are the 6th/7th richest country in the world’ and ‘humanity and compassion make us brilliant’ and ‘we should find a way to increase their participation in society.’

Finally as we passed by St Andrews cathedral we saw ourselves one of the benefits of the gifts of immigration: the food vendors. There was Afghan food, there were Middle Eastern wraps, there were Mexican burritos and tacos. Variety is the spice of life as they say. Many a time I have gone to get my lunch at one of these food vendors on a summer afternoon for a Kabul chicken with rice and vegetables meal. Or a kebab. Served by a lady in a hijab, or a Middle Eastern man who introduced himself as Haziz. The staff are friendly and down to earth, hard working and resourceful.

Another day to day anecdote is my interactions with women in black hijabs in my charity shop in the town centre. The ladies often come pushing prams with small children beside them. Their expressions are stressed. And from their price inquiries, you can tell they are not deep pocketed. However there is something cool about seeing a person from so far away adapt to the depressing winters of the Scottish Highlands, the cold, rain and the dark. People from the Middle East don’t come because it’s good for their career, they come because their back is against the wall and they have nowhere else to go.

One question I longed to ask some of the critics of asylum seekers was ‘if there was enough social housing, enough space on NHS waiting lists, enough GP surgery space and school places, would you still be against letting the migrants stay in Cameron Barracks?’