“Extraordinary display of incompetence” anger as Haslar Immigration Removal Centre inquiry is delayed

The Government has been accused of an “extraordinary display of incompetence” after a last-minute intervention will delay the public inquiry into plans for Haslar Immigration Removal Centre - and threaten to restrict public scrutiny of the plans.

Just days before the inquiry was due to begin, it was announced that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government was minded to issue a direction which would mean some evidence presented by the Home Office would be given behind closed doors as a result of national security concerns.

If issued, the direction under Section 321(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 could prevent residents, elected representatives and other interested parties from hearing or inspecting important evidence presented at the inquiry into the proposed expanded 600-bed facility.

As a result, the Planning Inspector has confirmed that the evidence sessions planned for next week have been postponed until some time in the New Year, although residents will still have an opportunity to address the inquiry when it officially opens on Tuesday (November 17).

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage, who has repeatedly opposed the Home Office's proposals to expand Haslar IRC, has written to the Secretary of State urging her to withdraw the notice and allow the inquiry to proceed openly and without further delay.

She said: “Frankly, it is an extraordinary display of incompetence that the Government has waited until days before the inquiry to initiate this process.

“I warned about the extensive redactions to the Home Office's plans in my formal objection back in July, yet months later the Government has left it until the eleventh hour to address these concerns.

“For two years, residents near Haslar have endured considerable disruption from the ongoing works. Alongside local councillors and hundreds of residents, I fought hard to secure this public inquiry so the proposals could be properly scrutinised.

“Now the Government has delayed proceedings and is threatening to shut residents out.”

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

This angered many in the community as it means that an independent planning inspector will now decide if permission should be granted, rather than local elected representatives.

Councillor Zoe Huggins BEM, Leader of Gosport Borough Council, said: “This is yet another example of the Home Office's complete disregard for the residents of Gosport.

“I wrote to the Government in September calling for greater transparency and fewer redactions to the planning documents. I also made clear the need for a full public inquiry, particularly given the decision to bypass the normal local planning process through the Crown Development route.

“We have been raising these concerns for months, yet the Government has waited until the very last minute to act, and now it is local residents who are paying the price.

“The Government must stop treating our community as an afterthought.”

The proposed expansion would see four new three-storey accommodation blocks constructed at Haslar IRC, increasing the site's total capacity to 600 beds. Planning permission for the first phase of the works as granted by Gosport Borough Council.

The inquiry will still open at Gosport Town Hall on Tuesday, November 17, with the initial public session from 4pm to 7.30pm, but the substantive evidence sessions which were to take place later in the week now postponed.

The Home Office has not confirmed its timetable for the opening of either phase one or phase two at the site. However it has said that investments in facilities such as immigration removal centres “are essential to continue ramping up” the removal of foreign criminals as well as failed asylum seekers.