Rayner approves Bicester site for up to 1,256 asylum seekers amid local opposition

Angela Rayner has granted planning permission for the Home Office to use MoD Bicester in Oxfordshire to accommodate up to 1,256 single male asylum seekers, despite strong local opposition. The decision matters because residents of nearby Piddington had held a symbolic vote to leave the UK in protest, and are challenging the plans in court.

The former military storage site is one of three locations proposed to house a total of 3,750 asylum seekers as the Government seeks to end hotel use. The Home Office says permission allows work to progress, but a final decision to proceed has not been made; it also says more than £1 billion has been saved in costs since the election.