Wrong Plan Wrong Site acknowledges the Government’s decision to grant planning permission for the proposed asylum accommodation centre at MOD Bicester Site A. The decision, announced on 12 November 2026, will understandably come as a huge disappointment to the thousands of people who have opposed these proposals, raised legitimate concerns and worked tirelessly to demonstrate why Site A is unsuitable for a development of this nature and scale.
But our message to the Government, our communities and everyone who has supported this campaign is clear: Planning permission is not the end of this process. Our legal challenge continues, and so does our campaign.
Planning permission does not mean the development will go ahead
Whilst yesterday’s announcement represents a significant step in the Government’s plans, it is important to understand exactly what has been decided – and what has not. The Secretary of State has granted planning permission for the proposed development, which could accommodate up to 1,256 asylum seekers at MOD Bicester Site A for at least ten years.
However, the Home Office has confirmed that a final decision on whether to proceed with the development has not yet been taken. In a statement issued following the announcement, the Home Office 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.
This is an important distinction.
The granting of planning permission does not mean that the site will inevitably become an asylum accommodation centre. Nor does it mean that the concerns raised by our communities have been resolved or that the Government’s decisions are beyond legal challenge.
The future of MOD Bicester Site A is still very much open.
Our High Court legal challenge continues
On 23 October 2026, Wrong Plan Wrong Site announced that it had launched a High Court legal challenge against the Government’s decision not to require a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the proposed development.
The challenge, brought through Bicester Countryside and Communities CIC, questions whether the Government acted lawfully when it concluded that a full assessment of the development’s potential environmental effects was unnecessary.
Our legal challenge raises three principal areas of concern:
- Outstanding environmental investigations, including potential contamination, ecology and wastewater infrastructure.
- Whether the Government obtained sufficient information to properly assess the potential environmental effects of the development, including the impact of nearby military training activities.
- Whether appropriate safeguards were in place to ensure the decision-making process was sufficiently independent.
These are substantial questions concerning a development that could fundamentally change the character of this area for a decade or more.
Yesterday’s planning decision does not resolve our existing legal challenge. The lawfulness of the Government’s decision not to require a full Environmental Impact Assessment remains a matter we are asking the High Court to examine.
You can read more about our legal action here: Wrong Plan Wrong Site launches High Court legal challenge against Government.
Our concerns have not gone away
Throughout this campaign, we have consistently presented evidence demonstrating why MOD Bicester Site A is the wrong location for this proposed development.
Our concerns are not based on speculation or an unwillingness to recognise the challenges facing the Government. They are grounded in the realities of this particular site and the communities and infrastructure surrounding it.
These include:
- The isolated rural location and inadequate local infrastructure.
- The potential impact on already stretched healthcare and other public services.
- Significant environmental concerns, including protected wildlife, contamination and wastewater management.
- The suitability of accommodating potentially vulnerable people close to an operational military training area.
- The implications for strategically important military training infrastructure.
- The financial cost to the taxpayer and whether the development represents genuine value for money.
- The Government’s use of an urgent planning process for a development intended to remain in place for at least ten years.
None of these concerns simply disappears because planning permission has been granted.
Indeed, recent national media coverage has brought further attention to the importance of the Bicester military estate and the potential consequences of displacing specialist military training at a time when Britain is being urged to strengthen its defence capabilities.
We continue to believe that the Government has chosen the wrong solution, in the wrong location, for the wrong reasons.
We are not going anywhere
We recognise that yesterday’s announcement will have left many people feeling angry, frustrated and disappointed. For months, residents, local councils, elected representatives, businesses and community organisations have worked together to challenge these proposals.
Thousands of people have given their time, donated money, attended meetings, written objections, contacted their MPs and helped bring national attention to the concerns surrounding Site A. That extraordinary collective effort has already ensured that what might otherwise have been a little-known Government proposal has become a matter of national debate and legal scrutiny.
We have come too far, and the issues at stake are too important, to stop now. Wrong Plan Wrong Site remains committed to challenging these proposals through every appropriate avenue available to us. We will continue to scrutinise the Government’s decisions. We will continue to present the evidence. We will continue to demand answers. And we will continue to pursue our legal challenge.
Our campaign has always been about the suitability of this location, the impact on our communities, the responsible use of public money and the need for transparent, evidence-based decision-making.
It is not a campaign against people seeking asylum. We believe the Government has a responsibility to provide appropriate accommodation, but that responsibility does not justify choosing an unsuitable location or failing to properly consider the consequences.
Now, more than ever, we need your support
Taking on the Government through the courts is a significant undertaking. It requires specialist legal expertise, considerable financial resources and the continued support of the communities we represent.
Wrong Plan Wrong Site is a community-led, non-political campaign. Everything we have achieved so far has been made possible by people coming together because they believe our communities deserve better.
To everyone who has supported us so far: thank you.
Your support has brought us to this point, and it will help us continue the fight.
If you are able to contribute to our campaign and support our ongoing legal challenge, please consider making a donation.
Yesterday’s announcement was not the outcome we wanted. But it is not the final outcome. We remain determined to ensure that the Government is held accountable, that the evidence is properly considered and that every available opportunity to challenge these plans is pursued.
The Government may have granted planning permission, but it has not changed the fundamental facts about this site.
It is still the wrong plan. It is still the wrong site.
And we will continue to challenge it to the end.
