UK Home Office plans to house asylum seekers in former military bases, sparking local backlash

The Home Office announced plans to use former Ministry of Defence sites in Bicester (Oxfordshire), Barnham (Suffolk) and Linton‑on‑Ouse (North Yorkshire) to accommodate up to 3,750 asylum seekers, with about 1,250 earmarked for the Bicester location. Existing former bases at RAF Wethersfield and Crowborough Training Camp are already being used for the same purpose.

Local officials and charities voiced strong concerns. Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller described the proposal as "another arbitrary decision from the Home Office, taken yet again, without any consultation with the council, residents or locally elected members" and questioned how a village of 370 could absorb 1,250 new residents. Oxfordshire charity Asylum Welcome’s Hari Reed warned that the sites would be "distant from the kind of support that they usually need and that will put additional burden on the public services". Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy warned of impacts on safety, services and community cohesion.

Border security and asylum minister Alex Norris tried to reassure, calling the former bases a "far cry" from asylum hotels and saying the system was "being brought back under control". Labour has pledged to end the use of costly asylum hotels, which currently house around 21% of asylum seekers.