If London suffers a terrorist attack, such as a dirty bomb, the Maldon district may have to house hordes of evacuees.
The district's larger schools. including the Plume and St Peter's High, have already been pinpointed as refugee centres, said Maldon District Council's emergency planning officer Richard Holmes.
Unfortunately, the Government has not yet announced whether it will allocate extra money to support the evacuees, he said.
Changes in legislation due to come into effect early next year will transfer responsibility for emergency planning from central to local government "which mainly means homelessness," he said.
"Detailed planning for the threat of terrorism" involves the possible movement of huge numbers of homeless refugees from London or Kent to Essex. If bombs or extreme weather made these places uninhabitable, Maldon would work with its neighbouring councils, plus Essex County Council and the unitary authorities, to house and feed the incomers, said Mr Holmes.
Published Friday July 30, 2004
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