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Resurfaced Documents Say MOD Bicester Could Hold 3,510 People

The large figure has sparked urgent local protests and fresh questions about planning transparency during an open consultation.

An anti-immigrant protestor holds a Union Flag reading 'Stop The Boats' during a protest outside the Sheraton Four Points hotel, believed to be housing asylum seekers, in Horley, south of London, on August 23, 2025. A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025 -- the highest number ever. The figures come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggles to stem rising support for a hard-right party led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • This week publicly available planning material surfaced that lists a possible capacity of 3,510 people for the former MOD Bicester site near Piddington, a number much higher than the Home Office’s formal proposal.
  • The Home Office has said the 3,510 figure is an outdated draft and that its current planning application seeks permission for up to 1,256 asylum seekers.
  • Piddington residents, a village of roughly 350 people, have organised protests and plan a symbolic referendum on September 15 to register opposition to the proposal.
  • Campaigners and villagers say key technical documents covering ecology, sewage, water and electrical works are incomplete or redacted, and the public consultation remains open until September 17.
  • The dispute highlights a wider government policy to move asylum seekers out of hotels into former military sites, a shift that has provoked local resistance and legal and planning scrutiny over suitability and transparency.