An Oxford charity has warned that Home Office plans to house up to 1,200 asylum seekers on a former military site near Bicester risk keeping people apart from the communities they will eventually call home. Asylum Welcome, which has supported refugees and asylum seekers across Oxfordshire for more than three decades, said large-scale institutional accommodation prevents integration and isolates vulnerable people.
The charity’s Joint CEO Hari Reed described those seeking safety as “future neighbours” and insisted that accommodation should help people become part of communities, “not keep them apart from them.” The Home Office announced in June 2026 that it wants to use the redundant MOD Bicester Garrison site between Piddington and Upper Arncott, housing single adult males aged 18 to 65 who have claimed asylum. The site would run for at least ten years, with provisional plans for 270 residents by the end of 2026 and full occupancy of around 1,250.
Cherwell District Council was told of the plans only a day before the public announcement. Council Leader Councillor Lesley McLean called the lack of consultation “astounding” and said the authority would press the minister for clarity, transparency and guarantees that local services would be resourced to cope. The Home Office factsheet states the site would be largely self-sufficient, but Asylum Welcome argues that people living in isolated settings struggle to access the legal advice, healthcare, education and specialist support they need while their claims are processed.
Asylum Welcome runs a weekly food bank providing fresh and packaged food alongside toiletries to people in urgent need, and the Bicester development could increase demand for its services across the county. The charity has particular concerns for LGBTQ+ individuals and survivors of torture or modern slavery, who may face heightened risks in large, all-male communal settings with reduced access to specialist help. Having supported people in institutional accommodation for the past four years, the charity is instead urging the Government to prioritise smaller, community-based housing that lets residents learn English, volunteer and forge local connections from the start.
In response to some community reactions, the charity emphasised there should be no place for racism or language that dehumanises others, pointing out that asylum seekers arrive after fleeing conflict, persecution, trafficking or exploitation and have no say in where they are housed. The Bicester proposals form one of three national sites intended to move 3,700 people out of hotels.
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