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Date submitted

31 July 2026

Submitted by

Interested party

I am writing as a local resident to strongly object to the Home Office’s application to expand the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) in Gosport. The site has not even reopened for its initial 130 detainees, yet this proposal asks to add 470 more places, creating a massive 600-bed locked facility. This expansion is completely unsuitable for this location for the following reasons: Severe Flood Risk: Haslar sits on a coastal site partly in Flood Zone 3 and faces high surface water flood risks. Because this is a locked facility, 600 detainees and staff cannot freely leave in an emergency. Gosport's road network is already heavily congested, making a safe, large-scale flood evacuation extremely unrealistic, especially as climate change brings higher sea levels and storm risks. No Proven Need: Quadrupling the site's capacity before the initial 130-bed centre has even opened or been tested makes no sense. The Home Office has not proved why this extra capacity is needed, why community-based alternatives aren't being used, or why this must happen on the tip of a congested peninsula. Strain on Local Services: The IRC will rely on local healthcare. With the old Haslar Hospital closed, a 600-bed facility will put an unnecessary burden on local NHS services, emergency care, and blue-light services that are already stretched. Environmental & Local Impact: A expansion of this size will harm our local environment, coastal paths, and nearby protected wildlife habitats (including Solent Ramsar and SPA sites) through increased traffic, lighting, noise, and runoff. Lack of Transparency: Key details are missing or hidden under "officially sensitive" labels, while the Home Office asks for outline permission. Local residents are being asked to accept a massive expansion without being given the full picture or a proper public Q&A. This is a major expansion on a sensitive, highly vulnerable coastal site. I ask that you refuse this application. If it is not refused immediately, I urge you to hold a full Public Inquiry so the Home Office's plans can be properly tested in public.