A Gosport MP has blasted the Home Office over plans to expand Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, branding the public consultation “utterly derisory”.
Dame Caroline Dinenage raised the issue in the House of Commons and used a statement on asylum accommodation to press the Minister for Border Security and Asylum for answers.
The Conservative MP warned that the scheme is being progressed through the Crown Development route, meaning Gosport Borough Council is bypassed as the local planning authority.
The final decision will be taken by the Secretary of State.
Dame Caroline said this left residents in the surrounding area without a clear opportunity to influence the plans.
She told the Commons: “The public consultation has been utterly derisory.
“Local people do not have any opportunity to have a say, because it will be decided by the Secretary of State in Whitehall.”
Haslar IRC, located on the former Royal Hospital Haslar site in Gosport, has operated for years as an immigration detention facility.
The Home Office has been bringing forward phased redevelopment proposals, including increased capacity, as part of wider efforts to expand the detention estate.
However, concern surrounding the scheme has recently ballooned.
It comes after a previously undisclosed third storey for the building was revealed during a public meeting at Thorngate Halls in October 2025, despite not featuring in earlier plans.
Dame Caroline said the latest proposals for the second phase of development differ significantly from those originally presented and warned that limited consultation risks further eroding public confidence.
She called on ministers to clarify how many people would be held at the site, who they would be, and how long they would stay, as well as what engagement residents could expect.
In response, minister Alex Norris said he would meet Dame Caroline and provide further details.
“I do not have those numbers at my fingertips, but I will get them to her in short order,” he said, adding that there were differing views on what had been shared publicly.
Following the exchange, Dame Caroline said trust in the process was “hanging by a thread” and urged the Home Office to engage directly with Gosport residents.
She said: “I’m pleased the Minister has agreed to meet me, and I’ll be holding him to that, but a meeting with me is no substitute for the Home Office being straight with the people of Gosport.”
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