‘Local residents will be angry’: Councils ‘disappointed’ as asylum plans approved for camp near Bicester

Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council have both expressed disappointment after the Government approved planning permission for a large-scale asylum accommodation camp near Bicester on Thursday (November 12).

Both councils formally objected to the Home Office's plans, first announced in June, to convert the former military camp at Piddington into accommodation for up to 1,256 male asylum seekers.

The proposals have also prompted regular protests by local residents in Bicester and the village of Piddington.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for public health and inequalities, Cllr Kate Gregory, said: “This is disappointing news. We will continue to oppose this proposal alongside other councils and the local community.

“This process continues to give limited consideration to the impact on nearby communities. The council has still not seen a sufficiently developed community engagement plan. Decisions of this scale must be developed transparently and in genuine partnership with local communities. This is not happening here.”

She added that Oxfordshire had a strong record of supporting people in need, including those fleeing violence and persecution, in line with its status as a Council of Sanctuary.

However, she stressed that this status had no bearing on how many people were accommodated in the county or where the Home Office chose to place them.

Earlier this year, the county council wrote to the Government outlining a number of concerns about the proposals.

These included poor transport links and access to surrounding settlements, questions about flood risk, land contamination, fire safety and whether the accommodation would remain suitable during extreme temperatures.

The council also highlighted a lack of detail about mental health support, residents' privacy and the capacity of local health, welfare and emergency services to support the site.

Cllr Gregory added: “We believe warehousing large numbers of vulnerable people in isolated sites, often with several people to a room, unable to work or volunteer and with limited access to basic services, is contrary to the integration, cohesion, safeguarding and public health policies and principles we aspire to.

“We cannot make this safe for pedestrians or cyclists, we've said there are no pavements. It's not safe. As the transport authority we are deeply concerned by this.”

Cherwell District Council said it was reviewing the decision to grant full planning permission and would continue working with residents and other relevant parties.

Council leader Cllr Lesley McLean said: “This is disappointing news, and local residents will rightly be feeling extremely angry and let down by this development. They have campaigned tirelessly and peacefully to have their voices heard, and this decision suggests their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.

“We know that despite planning approval being granted a final decision on whether the site will be used has not been made.

“I therefore urge the Home Office to engage urgently and constructively with our residents to listen to their concerns and give them a voice in decisions that could have far-reaching impacts on their lives. I don't think this is an unreasonable thing to expect.”