Angela Rayner grants planning approval for asylum centre in Piddington despite local opposition

Home Office sign-off also needed for site that would house 1,200 asylum seekers near Oxfordshire village that voted to leave UK

The communities secretary, Angela Rayner, has approved full planning permission for an asylum centre at a Ministry of Defence site near the village of Piddington in Oxfordshire.

The decision approves plans to go ahead with the refurbishment and redevelopment of the former barracks. The Home Office insists that final approval is still to be determined.

In September, people in Piddington voted to leave the UK in a symbolic referendum against plans to house 1,256 detained asylum seekers nearby. A total of 285 people were in favour of independence from the UK while 26 voted against.

The poll was organised by campaigners for residents to demonstrate opposition to the plans for accommodation at the converted MoD site near the town of Bicester.

A Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday: “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 £1bn saved in costs since the election.

“This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites. These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community.”

There is now a six-week window when the decision can face a legal challenge.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “The secretary of state has granted full planning permission for the temporary, phased use of the former MoD Bicester storage site.

“As the decision may be subject to legal challenge, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

Last month, campaigners against the government plans took their complaints to the high court.

The group Wrong Plan Wrong Site had appealed for a judicial review into the Home Office proposals for the former MoD Bicester site.

In August, the government concluded an environmental assessment was unnecessary for the proposed development.

But campaigners challenged that decision, with the group saying there were “credible concerns about potential significant environmental effects”.

Last summer Andy Burnham said that people in more affluent areas of the UK must “play their part” in housing asylum seekers.

Katie Lam, the shadow housing secretary of state, said: “Angela Rayner has told the people of Piddington that their voices count for nothing.

“A village of a few hundred people will now have 1,256 illegal male migrants housed on its doorstep against the wishes of almost everyone who lives there.

“Andy Burnham says every community must ‘play their part’ when it comes to housing illegal migrants, but why should British people suffer as a result of this government’s refusal to secure our border? The answer is not moving illegal migrants from hotels to military bases. It is removing them as soon as they arrive.

“Only the Conservatives are serious about protecting British communities.”

The Home Office announced in June it was exploring the use of three former military sites to house asylum seekers: MoD Bicester, MoD Barnham and MoD Linton-on-Ouse.

The government is also seeking to extend the use of two existing sites, Crowborough until 2030 and Wethersfield beyond 2027.