Home Office considers expanding asylum facilities in Gosport

The UK Home Office is considering plans to expand immigration infrastructure in Gosport, Hampshire, amid local opposition and protests. The department has begun recruiting staff to reopen the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre next year, with initial plans to hold 130 migrants before deportation. Local officials have expressed concern that the site could eventually expand to 600 beds through a proposed three-storey accommodation block, a move subject to a planning inquiry next month.

In addition to the Haslar facility, the government is weighing the use of Fort Blockhouse, a former Navy sea fort, as a landing site for small boat arrivals. While the Home Office has ruled out processing arrivals at Fort Blockhouse—stating they will instead be taken to the main processing centre in Manston, Dover—local politicians have criticized the department for a lack of transparency regarding potential landing operations in the area.

Recent small boat crossings from Normandy have landed in Hampshire, prompting mass protests that cost Hampshire Police £800,000 to manage. Local leaders, including Gosport Borough Council and regional representatives, have called for the town to be excluded from future landings to protect local tourism and prevent encouraging people smugglers.