The Home Office has published its first public factsheet about the proposed asylum accommodation centre at MOD Bicester Site A.
The document confirms that the Government is considering using the former military site to provide what it describes as basic, safe accommodation for people seeking asylum. It states that the site would be designed to be largely self-sufficient to minimise the effect on surrounding communities.
Most significantly, the factsheet says the site would operate as asylum accommodation for a minimum of ten years.
This confirms that the proposal is not a short-term emergency arrangement. If approved, it would represent a significant and long-lasting change of use for the site, with possible implications for nearby villages, local services, infrastructure and public expenditure.
The Government says detailed feasibility assessments could take several months and that activity may be visible at the site during this period. It maintains that this exploratory work does not predetermine the outcome and that the necessary planning permission and approvals would still be required.
However, the factsheet does not provide a full site layout, opening timetable or detailed explanation of the conversion and construction work required. It also does not contain site-specific assessments of transport, utilities, healthcare capacity, environmental impact or overall cost.
Although the proposal has frequently been described as accommodating approximately 1,250 people, the revised Government factsheet does not commit to publishing a live total. It says occupation would instead be phased, beginning with smaller numbers.
Wrong Plan. Wrong Site. believes the Government must publish the full technical evidence before a decision of this scale and duration is made.
