Home Office 'scared of scrutiny' as it rushes through plan to build one of Europe's biggest immigration detention centres on seafront site

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT Published: 00:01, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 00:01, 19 August 2026 Council leaders have accused the Government of fearing scrutiny by rushing through plans to build one of the biggest detention centres in Europe on a Hampshire seafront. Haslar Immigration Detention Centre in Gosport closed a decade ago but  is set to be reopened and enlarged to house 600 foreign criminals and illegal migrants over three storeys.  The development has been designated as having 'national importance', meaning the planning process is dealt with by ministers rather than the local council under the recently introduced Crown Development scheme.  But Zoe Huggins, the leader of Gosport Borough Council, has criticised the move and written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to demand a role in the planning process.  Speaking to the Daily Mail, she called for the proposal to be put to an open inquiry, which would allow local residents to have their say on the scheme.   'Our message is straightforward: give us an open inquiry, publish as much of the evidence as possible with unnecessary redactions removed, and establish a community liaison panel so residents have a meaningful voice,' she said.  'If the Government believes this expansion application stands up to scrutiny, it should not fear greater openness, transparency and scrutiny. 'The Council letter [to Ms Mahmood] is about the Crown Development process, not the planning merit and ensuring local voices are heard. Gosport is not asking for special treatment; we are asking for full and proper scrutiny.' Haslar Immigration Detention Centre in Gosport, Hampshire closed a decade ago but is set to be reopened and enlarged to house 600 illegal migrants over three storeys Zoe Huggins, the leader of Gosport Borough Council, has criticised the move and written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to demand a role in the planning process The newly expanded facility will have 600 beds provided for the detained men, who will be unable to leave the centre or access the local area. The biggest immigration removal centre in Europe is Harmondsworth near Heathrow, which has a capacity of 676. The Home Office also wants to expand Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Oxfordshire from 160 beds to 400 using the same Crown Development process.  Both sites will be used to hold foreign criminals and immigration offenders awaiting deportation. Plans to expand them were proposed by the Conservatives but are being carried out by Labour at an estimated cost of around £399million.  People living near the Gosport site say they have seen the price of their homes drop by as much as £25,000 after the plans were revealed and fear they will be left 'trapped' inside them due to a lack of willing buyers.  They also complain their lives have been made 'hell' by two years of 'constant' building work starting in the early hours of the morning. It is being refurbished after shutting down in 2015 following a parliamentary review, which highlighted immigration detention as 'expensive and damaging to detainees'. Dave Wakefield, 69, who lives directly opposite the seafront site with his wife Katie, previously shared his concerns about the scale of the plans.  'We know it is going to be different - how can you go from 150 to 600 people?' he said.  'Now we have seen everything that has gone on, and it is getting bigger and bigger. The people who are going there are criminals, so I have no time of day for them. 'But they have got 600 people and 450 staff; where's the planning and how's it going to be governed? 'Normally issues like this are sorted out by the boroughs, but it has gone straight to the government.' A woman who lives only 50 yards away from the centre – and who asked not to be identified – said the development had already hit the property market.  Work to expand the centre is largely completed but is subject to a public consultation that closes on August 6 'At the moment we are prisoners in our own homes. We can't sell our properties,' she said.  'We are trapped. We feel like prisoners. We can't go on social media and voice our concerns because if you do, you get trolled. 'It is nothing to do with the political side of things, it is about a way of life. It is about mental health.' The woman said she had gone through 'hell on Earth' due to builders creating large amounts of noise at 6am and blocking her car in. One woman, who did not want to be named, said that she had her house valued recently and it was now worth £25,000 less. Gosport MP Dame Caroline Dinenage has also called for the planning application to be considered by Gosport Borough Council instead of being dealt with by the Crown Development route.  In a letter to the Home Office, she said: 'It takes decision-making away from local people and into the hands of civil servants and Labour politicians in Whitehall. 'I have serious concerns that the Government are trying to push this application through with minimal scrutiny, which isn't acceptable.'  Redevelopment work at Haslar has taken a phased approach, with Phase 1 consisting of the refurbishment of existing buildings, and Phase 2 involving the building of new-build accommodation. Phase 1 will provide 130 beds and is expected to be ready by autumn, while the first inmates are anticipated to move into the site in Spring 2027. Plans to expand Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Oxfordshire have also been controversial, with the site picketed by protesters holding 'refugees welcome' banners.  An aerial view of the facility next to the town of Gosport in Hampshire  The Government says that expanding both centres will increase detention capacity by 40 per cent, which could facilitate the removal of 45,000 people over the next decade.  Labour has announced plans to move asylum seekers into three former bases, RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, MoD Bicester in Oxfordshire and MoD Barnham in Suffolk. For the second two sites, the Government is using the controversial Crown Development short-cut.  In response, Calum Miller, the Lib Dem MP for Bicester & Woodstock, accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of 'bypassing local scrutiny' and showing 'contempt' for local people. 'The Government is abusing a process that was intended for real urgency to bypass local people,' he told the Daily Mail.   A Home Office spokesman said: 'All Crown Development planning applications require extensive engagement, and we encourage residents and stakeholders to share their views through the formal process. 'We make no apology for significantly expanding our detention capacity which will see more than 45,000 additional foreign criminals and illegal migrants removed over the coming decade.'