Piddington chairman warns of legal challenge over asylum site plans

Piddington’s parish council chairman says the government should expect a legal challenge to its plans to turn a former military site near the Oxfordshire village into accommodation for more than 1,200 asylum seekers. But the Home Office says it has not yet made a final decision to proceed.

Tim McNally, the chairman, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that opponents had six weeks to challenge the planning decision and said ministers should “absolutely” be ready for legal action. He also said the village would seek to use the proposed Hillsborough Law, which, once passed, would impose a legally enforceable duty of candour on public officials during investigations and inquiries.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner approved planning permission for the development at MoD Bicester after the Home Office used a fast-track process for projects considered urgently needed and of national importance. The plans could house up to 1,256 men.

A campaign group, Wrong Plan Wrong Site, appealed last month for a judicial review of the proposals. The BBC also reported that Piddington had symbolically voted to leave the UK in September in protest at the planned use of the site.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the government would continue engaging with the community, and that concerns could still be mitigated while further stages remained. The Home Office said the permission allowed it to progress the site’s use, but that a final decision had yet to be taken.

The department said the proposed accommodation would be self-contained, with round-the-clock security and CCTV, and was part of a plan to close asylum hotels and move people into alternative accommodation. It said the government had saved more than £1bn in costs since the election.