The key facts

  • Planning permission for the MoD Bicester project was approved by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner under an expedited procedure
  • Piddington Parish Council chair Tim McNally said the village is ready to sue and intends to invoke the Hillsborough Law
  • The village previously symbolically voted to leave the UK, and the group Wrong Plan Wrong Site sought a judicial review

Project approval and the announced legal challenge

The UK government will face a legal challenge to plans to convert the former MoD Bicester military site in Oxfordshire into accommodation for more than 1,200 asylum seekers, Piddington Parish Council chair Tim McNally has said. According to BBC News, planning permission was approved by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner after the Home Office used an expedited procedure for projects deemed urgently necessary and of national significance. Under the plans, the site could house up to 1,256 men.

Residents' position and the reference to the Hillsborough Law

Opponents of the project have six weeks to challenge the decision. McNally told BBC Radio 4 that ministers should 'absolutely' be prepared for a lawsuit, adding that the village could invoke the new Hillsborough Law — once in force, it will create a legally binding duty of candour requiring public officials and bodies to act transparently during investigations. 'There will be a lot of actions, you will see. We will reveal them as we move forward,' he said, naming a day of reflection and noting that the village will decide on specific steps next. In September, Piddington symbolically voted to leave the United Kingdom over the planned use of the site, and last month the group Wrong Plan Wrong Site sought a judicial review of the proposals.

Authorities' response and the status of the decision

Defence Minister Luke Pollard said on LBC that he recognised the strong feelings in the community around Bicester and Piddington, and stressed that the Home Office continues to engage with residents: 'There are still several stages to go through here, so nothing is finalised and implemented yet.' A Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday that the planning permission allows work on the use of MoD Bicester to continue, however, no final decision on moving the project forward has yet been made. According to the department, the government is working towards a fairer distribution of asylum seeker accommodation across the country, has saved more than £1 billion since the election, is closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites, which are to be self-sufficient, with round-the-clock security and CCTV. Thus, the approval of planning permission does not mean the project is going ahead: the Home Office's final decision, by its own statement, is still to come, and opponents retain a six-week window to challenge it.

A view of the ex-military base MoD Bicester in OxfordshireImage source, Press Association
Image caption,

Up to 1,256 men could be housed at the site near Bicester under the plans

Tim is looking into the camera with a serious facial expression. He is stood inside a village hall.
Image caption,

Piddington Parish Council chair Tim McNally led the referendum campaign

A security guard closes a gate leading into a former military baseImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The government previously said the site 'would provide basic, safe accommodation'

An entrance to the MoD Bicester site. A white sign with black text says 'Bicester Garrison, Military Lands, Restricted Area' and hangs on a black wire fence.The gates outside MoD Bicester site A. A security guard is patrolling behind gates and a barbed wire fence.