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Date submitted

24 July 2026

Submitted by

Interested party

Dear Planning Inspectorate, The Oxford Renters Union writes to object to the Home Office’s proposal to expand Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre by 240 places, from 160 to 400 places. The application reference is CROWN/2026/0000004. The area around Langford Lane, London Oxford Airport, Oxford Technology Park and Begbroke Science Park is identified for high-value employment and economic growth. A large immigration detention centre will not provide the same economic benefit to the area as the investment and then employment that come with innovation and research. The Home Office should not be allowed to rely on general job creation alone to claim that the proposal fits the local economic strategy. The Planning Inspectorate should consider whether the expansion genuinely fits the adopted development plan and local planning priorities for this area. We are also concerned about the human impact of this expansion. Immigration detention causes serious harm to the people held there. The effects of that harm do not stop at the perimeter fence. Families, legal representatives, community groups, health and advice services, faith groups, local residents and local authorities are often left responding to the consequences of detention, including distress, release into hardship, safeguarding concerns, destitution, emergency support needs, removal, protest and public concern. The application does not properly address this harm or the wider impact of expanding detention capacity at Campsfield. We understand that the Planning Inspectorate’s decision will focus on material planning considerations, but this representation is also part of the public record. Humanitarian concerns are valid and should be recorded, especially where they reinforce the need for full scrutiny of a development of this scale and sensitivity. This proposal is not ordinary infrastructure. It is a major expansion of a detention centre, and it should receive the closest possible scrutiny. The application also does not provide enough evidence about the impact of a much larger detention centre on the local area and population too. Residents of Kidlington and North Oxford have not evidence of the impact of the expansion on their roads and traffic, their public services, their water quality, noise protection and wildlife. The Planning Inspectorate should consider these impacts alongside other planned and permitted development in the area, not look at Campsfield in isolation. The local area is already facing major development pressures, including housing, business and innovation development, and other large projects. The redaction of transport information is especially concerning because traffic, access, parking and construction traffic are central planning issues. The public needs enough information to understand how the expansion would affect the local road network and local infrastructure. For these reasons, we object to the application and ask that it is refused. If it is not refused at this stage, I ask the Planning Inspectorate to examine the application through a full public inquiry after the consultation closes. A public inquiry would allow the Home Office’s case to be scrutinised in public and the evidence to be properly tested before any decision is made. Yours faithfully, Oxford Renters Union 24/07/2026