Government papers warn that a large migrant accommodation centre near an Oxfordshire village could present risks to women and girls, while police leaders have raised concerns about possible increases in crime and pressure on local services.
Housing Minister Angela Rayner has approved plans for the controversial facility at the Ministry of Defence site in Bicester, despite residents of nearby Piddington symbolically voting to leave the UK in protest.
A newly released planning document states that the proposed security arrangements at the centre, which is intended to accommodate 1,256 single male migrants, will not be able to remove every potential risk to the surrounding community.
People living in Piddington, a village of around 350 residents including 46 children, have spent months opposing the plans. They say the development is “completely inappropriate” and would place an unsustainable burden on the community.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the decision as a “betrayal of the women of Piddington”, arguing that it reflected what she called Labour’s disregard for the law and the safety of women and girls.
Writing on social media, she said: “When I visited Piddington I met a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep. The Government said it was listening, instead it’s completely ignored this community’s concerns.”
A total of 3,177 people and organisations submitted objections to the proposal. Just one response backed the scheme.
The approval document says officials examined the potential impact on neighbouring communities, including concerns about women’s safety, public perceptions, community cohesion, policing demand and possible protest activity.
Government documents say a large migrant centre near an Oxfordshire village could pose risks to women and girls, while police chiefs have warned of potential increases in crime. Pictured: An aerial view of the former military depot
Housing Minister Angela Rayner approved the controversial MoD Bicester centre despite opposition from nearby Piddington, where residents symbolically voted to leave the UK in protest
A televised confrontation broke out on Friday between Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf and Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp over the proposed migrant centre near Piddington
Officials said the site would be “closely managed” with round-the-clock staffing, restricted access, CCTV, security patrols and procedures for responding to incidents.
The document states: “Service Users would be free to enter and leave, but the site’s relatively isolated location and limited pedestrian connections are likely to constrain journeys on foot.
“While these measures cannot eliminate all risk, officials consider that they would materially reduce security and community-safety risks.”
Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, also objected to the proposal, according to the published planning material.
“Insufficient consideration has been given to the implications of accommodating a large population in a relatively self-contained and isolated location with limited access to services and amenities,” his submission said.
He warned that the arrangement could increase social isolation and crime, create additional demands for policing, put pressure on local infrastructure and fuel tensions among residents and nearby communities.
Thames Valley Police separately advised the Government to reconsider whether the location was suitable, citing its limited infrastructure and dependence on organised transport.
The force also urged officials to limit the visibility of residents and activity at the centre from outside the site, citing privacy, security and community-safety concerns.
Police warned of the possibility of protests and the resulting need for additional officers. They also highlighted concerns about public perceptions of safety and the prospect of significant policing costs that had not been budgeted for.
Approval for the Piddington site follows comments from Prime Minister Andy Burnham that people in more affluent parts of the UK should “play their part” in accommodating asylum seekers.
The Government has pledged to phase out the use of hotels for asylum accommodation and replace them with former military facilities.
Two such centres are already operating at Wethersfield in Essex and Crowborough in East Sussex.
Further sites have been identified at Barnham in Norfolk, Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire and MoD Bicester in Oxfordshire.
Decisions on the other proposed locations are understood not to have been made.
After the Piddington decision was announced, residents said they had “always known” the centre would receive approval. They accused the Government of effectively submitting and approving its own planning application.
Joe Marshall, a Piddington parish councillor, told BBC Newsnight: “The quality of the application is shocking, the discrepancies are all over the place.
“They’ve really not followed the right planning procedure. But regardless of that, we always knew it was going to be approved.
“There are 28 conditions that they’ve got to discharge – all, effectively, about site viability. So, you know, this war isn’t over yet.”
Mr Marshall also questioned whether the country could be considered democratic given the scale of opposition to the proposal in Piddington.
“I think this development is something that nobody would want to have imposed on their local area,” he said.
“And it’s not particularly just a NIMBY issue. It’s a wider issue: quadrupling of your population, the exposure to emissions from generators, the increase in road collisions as a result of this proposal.”
Parish council chairman Tim McNally said ministers should be prepared for a legal challenge to the decision.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “Last night, (Prime Minister) Andy Burnham was on a podium talking about the violence, sexual violence towards women, and bringing it upon the media industry as their responsibility to manage.
“But the reality is that this is exactly what the Government is doing to us here.”
The decision also sparked a heated exchange between politicians after Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf and Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp appeared together in Piddington to oppose the Labour Government’s plans.
Their joint televised press conference quickly became confrontational when Mr Yusuf used his remarks to criticise previous Conservative governments.
After Mr Philp spoke, Mr Yusuf asked whether the Conservative politician would “like to actually apologise for the things that you did in government”.
“Are you going to take the opportunity to apologise to the people of Piddington and to the country?” Mr Yusuf continued, attacking the Conservatives’ record on illegal migration.
Mr Philp called the remarks “disingenuous” and said the Conservatives were now operating under new leadership from Kemi Badenoch.
Referring to the asylum seekers expected to be housed at MoD Bicester, he said: “The men that are going to be placed here are men who arrived very recently under this Labour Government.”
As Mr Yusuf attempted to interrupt, Mr Philp told him to “read the room” and said local people wanted him to “pipe down on the cheap politics”.
The decision is now subject to a six-week period during which it can be challenged through the courts.
A Home Office spokesman said on Friday: “Planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MoD Bicester.
“However, a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken.
“The Government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1billion saved in costs since the election.
“This includes closing all asylum hotels.”