MOD Bicester Asylum Site Granted Planning Permission

The Government has granted planning permission to house up to 1,256 asylum seekers at MOD Bicester Site A, the former defence depot near Piddington. The Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, approved the Home Office’s application on Thursday 12 November. The Home Office says it has still to take a final decision to open the site.

Overview

• What was approved: full planning permission for the temporary, phased use of Site A at Bicester Garrison, Launton Road, OX25 1AE, as accommodation for up to 1,256 people seeking asylum.
• Who decided: the Secretary of State, not Cherwell District Council, under the urgent Crown development route.
• Is it opening? Not yet decided. The Home Office says “a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken”.
• Can it be challenged? Yes, in the High Court, within six weeks of the day after the decision date, and only on the ground that the decision is legally flawed.

What the permission covers

The application, reference PCU/RARE/C3105/3378843, asked for a temporary change of use of the former defence storage and distribution centre. According to the GOV.UK application page, it covers:

• keeping and converting Building A6, and demolishing other buildings
• new modular accommodation
• space for health and welfare facilities
• a wastewater treatment plant, roads, parking and security infrastructure
• staff accommodation, open space and recreation areas

The Home Office’s own factsheet for the site says it would be used for a minimum of 10 years and would house single adult men aged 18 to 65, with 24-hour security on site.

Site A is about 4.75km from Bicester, closest to Piddington. The BBC reported that the Government’s decision report recorded 3,177 representations against the plan and one in support. The decision documents had not been added to the GOV.UK application page when we checked on Friday 13 November: it still gave the status as “Representation period”, which closed on 17 September.

“Deeply disappointed”: the MP’s response

Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, has opposed the plan in Parliament since it was announced. In a statement from his office he said:

“I am deeply disappointed that the Government has approved this proposal despite the serious concerns raised by residents and local councils as well as the major problems with the site.

“The Government’s own assessment accepts that problems with transport, community cohesion and pressure on local services will remain. The NHS has warned that nearby GP practices have no spare capacity, while crucial details of site access and sewage disposal have been left for later approval.”

He also questioned how the site’s ground conditions would be dealt with, and the handling of an existing legal challenge:

“The Government acknowledges there is asbestos and unexploded ordnance on the site but, amazingly, thinks it can manage this safely, despite the cost. The major environmental objections that are the basis of a High Court challenge to the application are simply ignored with the Government relying on the original, flawed assessment.

“Ministers have blundered ahead, ignoring the huge problems with this site - which has never previously had accommodation. I will continue to oppose this decision and demand full scrutiny of the costs and consequences for our communities.

“It is the wrong plan and the wrong site for local communities, asylum seekers and taxpayers.”

The legal challenge he refers to was brought by the campaign group Wrong Plan, Wrong Site. In the Commons on 14 October he asked ministers to pause the application and carry out a full environmental impact assessment because of it, as we reported at the time.

What the Home Office says

A Home Office spokesperson said:

“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 £1 billion 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.”

The Home Office has already signed a £1.2 million contract with Reds10 to design the accommodation. That design stage runs to 5 January 2027, and the Home Office has said it has no commitment to sign the building stage.

How councils and the village responded

Cherwell District Council objected to the application on 17 September, citing transport and highway impacts, pressure on local services, drainage and environmental issues, and site safety and management. It was a consultee only: the decision was never the council’s to make. Bicester Town Council and Oxfordshire County Council also objected.

Tim McNally, chair of Piddington Parish Council, told the BBC the village was “clearly quite disappointed” and that “there’s going to be many actions”. The Conservatives and Reform UK also condemned the decision.

What happens next

• A six-week window for legal challenge has opened. The Government says a challenge “may be brought only on the ground that the decision is legally flawed”, not on the planning merits.
• Details still to be approved. Mr Miller says site access and sewage disposal have been left for later approval.
• The Home Office decides whether to open. It has not said when, and has said previously that the site would fill in phases, starting with smaller numbers.
• The design contract ends on 5 January 2027. A building contract would need its own public notice on Contracts Finder.

We will report the published decision documents and their conditions when they appear on GOV.UK.