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Search the Public Notice PortalReform UK has demanded “complete transparency” over Home Office plans to house 1,250 male asylum seekers at a Ministry of Defence site in Bicester.
Councillor Paul Jeffreys, a former soldier and leader of the Reform UK group on Cherwell District Council, said his biggest concern was the lack of clear information about the scheme he claims is being “made behind closed doors”.
He said residents “deserve to know” what discussions have taken place about the Bicester A‑site, what assessments have been carried out and what the long‑term implications would be for policing, healthcare, transport and community services.
Mr Jeffreys argued that “local agencies have not been given the level of involvement you would expect for a decision with such significant local consequences”, describing the Government’s approach as “simply not good enough”.
His intervention comes against the backdrop of previous attempts to base asylum accommodation in Bicester.
In 2001, the Government proposed ten asylum accommodation centres for 3,000 people, totalling £28 million which today would cost an estimated £52 million, under Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ‘Safe Borders, Safe Haven’ initiative, including a centre in Bicester.
Cherwell and Oxfordshire councils opposed the plan, warning it would strain education and social services and the Government's planning inspector agreed, saying it breached policy and would burden local providers.
READ MORE:
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'Secret' decision claim to house 1,000 migrants at Bicester
However, deputy Prime Minister John Prescott overruled that decision in 2003 and approved a 750‑place centre. Amid strong local opposition and falling asylum claims, the scheme was eventually scrapped in 2005.
Jeffreys said public services in Cherwell are already under pressure, pointing to residents’ complaints about difficulty accessing GP appointments, ongoing strain on NHS services, congestion on local roads and rising demand on council‑run services.
“Before any decision is implemented, there must be a clear plan showing how these pressures will be managed and funded,” he said.
Warning that Cherwell taxpayers “should not find themselves picking up the bill for decisions made by central Government”, Jeffreys insisted that any additional demands on the council or local services “must be fully funded by the Home Office”.
Setting out a list of demands, he called for full publication of correspondence and discussions about the MOD Bicester proposal, detailed impact assessments covering policing, healthcare, transport and community safety, and a clear statement on how many people the site is expected to accommodate.
He added that councillors should be able to scrutinise the plans in public meetings, with recorded votes on any council decisions linked to the scheme.
“The people of Cherwell deserve clear answers, not decisions made behind closed doors,” he said, vowing to continue to press for “openness, accountability and proper consultation” as the plans develop.
