Oxfordshire villagers prepare legal challenge over asylum accommodation plan

Villagers in Oxfordshire are preparing to mount a legal challenge against government plans to convert a Ministry of Defence site near Piddington into accommodation for more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers.

It emerged on Thursday that Angela Rayner, the housing and communities secretary, had granted full planning permission for the scheme. The decision was welcomed by the Home Office, which is seeking to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers.

Tim McNally, chair of the local parish council, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that villagers would take "many actions" in response, and said ministers should "absolutely" expect a legal challenge. Such a challenge would need to be lodged within the next six weeks.

The plans have met fierce resistance from the village, whose 350 residents went so far as to hold a referendum and make a symbolic attempt to declare independence from the rest of the country. Asked how the community would respond to the planning approval, McNally said: "There's going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward." Pressed on whether ministers should brace for legal action, he replied: "Absolutely, absolutely."

McNally also raised the prospect of invoking the new Hillsborough law, which is currently being considered by parliament. Once passed, it would create a legally enforceable duty of candour requiring public officials and authorities to act transparently during investigations and inquiries. "Today is a day of reflection, and we'll work out where we plan to go from this point. But I will say, the Hillsborough law is there for a reason, and we're going to apply it," he said.

Luke Pollard, a defence minister, said the government would keep engaging with the community. Speaking to LBC, he acknowledged "a strong sense of feeling from the community around Bicester, especially in Piddington," and noted that the process was not complete. "There's still a few more stages to go here, so it's not yet fully locked in and delivered, so that we can understand where the concerns are, so they can be mitigated."

A Home Office spokesperson said a final decision to proceed had yet to be taken. "The government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1bn saved in costs since the election," the spokesperson said, adding that this included closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation such as former military sites, which are designed to be self-contained with round-the-clock security and CCTV to minimise the impact on local communities.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative party leader, condemned the plans as a "betrayal of the women of Piddington" and described them as "emblematic of Labour and Angela Rayner's disregard for the law and women and girls' safety." Writing on social media after a visit to the village, she said she had met "a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep" and accused the government of ignoring local concerns, adding that the migrants concerned "should be deported as soon as possible."