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Date submitted

30 July 2026

Submitted by

Interested party

Your ref: CROWN/2026/0000005 My ref: CD61941 30th July 2026 Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to object to Crown Development Application CROWN/2026/0000005 concerning the proposed expansion of Haslar Immigration Removal Centre. Before setting out my objections, I must express my profound disappointment at the way in which Home Office Ministers and Officials have conducted engagement with residents and elected representatives. The three-storey buildings now included within this application were not included in the plans originally presented to residents, despite their height, scale and appearance being among the most significant aspects of the development. At the first engagement event in January 2023 residents were told that the height of any future buildings would be no taller than the existing site, which contains one two storey structure. This inaccuracy from the earlier engagement has left residents feeling that they were not given an accurate or transparent account of what is being proposed. I recognise that the Crown Development route is now available to the Government. However, this application is among the first of the very small number to be determined through this exceptional procedure, under which responsibility for determining the application has been removed from the local planning authority. I disagree with the use of this procedure and have repeatedly called for the proposal to be submitted to Gosport Borough Council through the usual planning process. Given the substantial local interest in the application, the shortcomings in the previous engagement and the extent to which important documents and drawings have been withheld or heavily redacted, I ask that the application be determined following a full public inquiry rather than solely through written representations. A public inquiry would allow residents and elected representatives to test the applicant’s evidence, ask questions and make meaningful representations about matters which cannot properly be examined using the limited information currently available. It would also provide the Home Office with an opportunity to answer publicly for the assumptions and conclusions contained within its application. I have attached my full comments and have included a summary below: The proposal represents a substantial intensification of the site’s existing use and has not been shown to be compatible with its sensitive heritage, environmental and coastal context. Its scale and operational characteristics could risk substantially compromising the regeneration of the Haslar Peninsula and the creation of a significant new waterfront neighbourhood at Royal Hospital Haslar and Fort Blockhouse. It would also permanently remove the opportunity to deliver approximately 225 homes, including a substantial proportion of affordable housing, at a time when Gosport cannot demonstrate a five-year housing supply. The height, massing and utilitarian design of the proposed buildings would cause harm to the Haslar Barracks Conservation Area and the setting of nationally important heritage assets at Royal Hospital Haslar. The applicant has not provided adequate and up-to-date evidence concerning cumulative transport effects, protected species, healthcare demand, night-time operations, immigration-bail releases or the possible future use of the site. The extensive redaction of drawings and supporting documents makes a thorough and transparent assessment of these issues exceptionally difficult. Please inform me should a hearing take place regarding this application. I therefore ask that planning permission be refused. Yours sincerely, Dame Caroline Dinenage DBE MP

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