New buildings to revive immigration removal centre

A £70m revamp of an immigration removal centre will involve refurbishing its existing site and building new accommodation.

Campsfield House in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, was shut in 2018 after years of problems, including riots, escapes and complaints about conditions.

The Home Office announced in 2022 that it intended to reopen the site and construction company Galliford Try said it won the contract to renovate it last year.

A document published on Wednesday shows 160 bed spaces will be created in refurbished accommodation and that other new buildings will be used to reach a full capacity of 400 men.

The government said Campsfield House will be used to accommodate "a mixture of time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders while we prepare to remove them from the UK."

But MPs, councils and charities oppose the site being reopened.

Last year Asylum Welcome's director Mark Goldring said it "fundamentally" objected to its reuse.

Most bedrooms will be shared by two men, the Home Office said, and healthcare there will have "no impact" on other local services.

"Detained men will be held under immigration powers and will not be free to leave the centre or access the local area," the Home Office added.

"The [immigration removal centre] will have robust physical security measures and appropriate security procedures in place to ensure the facility operates safely and securely."

Recruitment for the centre has taken place over recent years and an advert for detention engagement officers closed in March.

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said last year that reopening Campsfield House was one of various measures to "boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced".

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.