Residents "vindicated" with Haslar IRC plans set for a public inquiry for "highest level of scrutiny"

Expanded plans to bring the Haslar Immigration Removal Centre back into use are set to face a public inquiry, with residents "vindicated" for expressing their concerns.

The Planning Inspectorate has confirmed that an inquiry will be held into the Home Office’s application to expand Haslar IRC to accommodate up to 600 people as part of a second phase for the site.

It follows calls from Gosport’s MP Caroline Dinenage and Gosport Borough Council for the proposals to be examined through a full public inquiry - the highest level of scrutiny - rather than decided solely on the written evidence submitted.

The Planning Inspectorate said an inquiry was necessary because the application has generated “considerable local interest” and because “some of the issues raised are complex and the evidence would benefit from formal cross-examination”.

Dame Caroline said: “This is an important victory for local residents whose opposition has been vindicated. An inquiry is exactly what I called for in my objection.

“The Planning Inspectorate has recognised that there is considerable local interest in these proposals and, crucially, that some of the issues we have raised are sufficiently complex that they need to be properly tested.

As previously reported by The News, work is ongoing to bring the site back into use after its closure in 2015, with the first phase creating 130 beds. A second phase would expand this to 600 beds, but plans were submitted for a decision via the Crown Development route - bypassing the local council’s usual decision-making process.

The Gosport MP specifically called for an inquiry in her objection to the proposals, arguing that the scale of the development and the strength and complexity of the concerns raised meant the Home Office’s case should be tested in public.

The decision comes just days after almost 100 residents living closest to Haslar attended a meeting organised by the MP to discuss the existing redevelopment and proposed expansion. Despite repeated invitations, the Home Office declined to attend.

Dame Caroline has repeatedly criticised the Government’s decision to use the Crown Development process for phase two and the lack of meaningful engagement with local residents. Gosport Borough Council has also raised concerns about the process directly with the Government and called for an open inquiry.

She described her frustration at ‘the Home Office’s continued reluctance to properly engage with our community’.

She added: “The Government chose to pursue this development through the Crown Development process rather than the normal local planning system. It is therefore particularly important that the Planning Inspectorate has now agreed that its proposals should face the highest level of scrutiny available."

Meanwhile, the leader of Gosport Borough Council Cllr Zoe Huggins BEM, also welcomed the news and said it mean that residents were being heard.

She said: “This decision vindicates the concerns that Gosport Borough Council and local residents have been raising throughout this process.

“We have consistently argued that an application of this significance cannot simply be pushed through without the proper opportunity for the evidence to be scrutinised and local concerns to be heard.

“I wrote directly to the Home Secretary to raise our further concerns about both the proposals themselves and the process being used. The Planning Inspectorate has now agreed that the complexity of the issues warrants a full Inquiry where the evidence can be properly tested.

“The council will continue to stand up for Gosport and ensure that our residents’ voices are heard throughout what happens next.”

An Inquiry is the highest level of scrutiny available when examining the application and has been pencilled in for November 17 2026, with the details will to be confirmed.

Anyone wishing to formally participate can request to do so by writing to [email protected] and quoting application reference CROWN/2026/0000005.

The Home Office has said it remains confident in the strength of the application on its planning merits and and its preparation for the next stage of the process.

A spokesperson said: “All Crown Development planning applications require extensive engagement, and a public inquiry of this kind is a standard part of the process. We encourage residents and stakeholders to share their views through the formal process.

“Since the election we have returned or deported over 80,000 individuals, including 11,733 foreign national offenders, and these investments are essential to continue ramping up these removals.”

It added that it will write to local residents to set out further details on these matters, including the named point of contact, shortly.