Public inquiry to look at immigration centre plans

There will be a public inquiry into government plans to more than double the capacity of an immigration removal centre.

Campsfield near Kidlington in Oxfordshire reopened in December after it was shut in 2018 following years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

The Home Office is proposing to increase the centre's capacity from 160 bed spaces to 400, and convert existing buildings.

The Planning Inspectorate has now said the application, submitted in June, will follow an inquiry procedure. A date has not yet been set.

A letter seen by the BBC, sent to those who made written representations, confirmed the decision.

"The application has generated considerable local interest; some of the issues raised are complex and the evidence would benefit from formal cross-examination," it said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "All Crown Development planning applications require extensive engagement, and a public inquiry of this kind is a standard part of the process.

"We encourage residents and stakeholders to share their views through the formal process."

It said since the election it had "returned or deported over 80,000 individuals, including 11,733 foreign national offenders" and that investments like Campsfield were "essential to continue ramping up these removals".

It previously said Campsfield had undergone a £70m refurbishment and was "redeveloped to high security standards".

The centre has been subject to opposition from MPs, residents and charities over the years, with campaigners describing it as an "appalling" place.

Protesters who gathered as the first detainees arrived in December described the move as a "terrible step backwards".

In response, the government said it would "speed up enforced removals of foreign national offenders and illegal migrants".

The Planning Inspectorate has received more than 200 objections to the proposal, including from local MPs Calum Miller and Layla Moran, Amnesty International UK, planning authority Cherwell District Council, and former detainee Gentjan Lybeshari, who claims in his submission that he was "subjected to severe physical violence".

Responding to the news of a public enquiry, Miller said: "This gives residents the fullest opportunity for the Home Office's case to be rigorously and openly tested."

He said the government had "failed to provide demonstrable, objective and clear evidence that additional capacity is needed across the immigration detention estate".

He added: "This means this project risks being a huge waste of public money.

"They have also failed to demonstrate that the impact on detainees, local residents and already stretched local infrastructure will be addressed."

The MP for Bicester and Woodstock concluded that unless the government could show its "benefits outweigh its significant costs and harms, the application should be rejected".

Campaign group Coalition to Close Campsfield called on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to let "elected representatives decide".

"They oppose the reopening and expansion of Campsfield," the group said.

"The government should respond to the news of the public inquiry by announcing that it is withdrawing its planning application."

The plans are being processed under the Crown Development route, which is a planning procedure that takes the decision out of the hands of Cherwell council.

The proposals also include centralised catering and healthcare, multi-faith space, leisure and education facilities.

A planning document states that new-build development within the site is "necessary to increase capacity and to provide improved accommodation and associated facilities in a form better aligned with current Home Office operational requirements".

It adds that the proposed development will result in a number of "key planning benefits", including meeting the capacity of the government's immigration enforcement requirements.