The Home Office has begun recruiting staff for Haslar Immigration Removal Centre in Gosport while a separate planning application to expand the site to around 600 detention places remains under consideration.

The Government’s first phase of redevelopment at Haslar is intended to provide 130 detention places. A second phase would add a further 470 places, taking the site’s overall capacity to 600.

The Planning Inspectorate confirms the Home Office application is currently at the inquiry stage, with a public inquiry scheduled to begin at Gosport Town Hall on November 17. The application has not yet been decided. find-crown-development.planninginspectorate.gov.uk

At the same time, the Home Office is advertising for Detention Engagement Officers at Haslar, with the recruitment listing published this week.

The recruitment relates to preparing Haslar for operation and does not itself amount to planning approval for the proposed 470-place expansion.

Residents and MP raise concerns

The proposed expansion has faced objections from some residents and from Gosport MP Dame Caroline Dinenage.

Dinenage has said concerns raised with the proposals include their scale, traffic and disturbance, pressure on local services, flood risk, environmental effects and what she describes as insufficient public engagement. She has also criticised the use of the Crown Development planning process, under which the application is being determined nationally rather than through the normal local council route.

The Planning Inspectorate opted for a full inquiry after the application generated what it described as “considerable local interest” and because some of the issues would benefit from formal examination of evidence.

Home Office says more detention capacity is needed

The Government says expanding immigration detention capacity forms part of its efforts to increase removals of people who have no legal right to remain in the UK.

In June, the Home Office announced plans to expand Haslar and Campsfield as part of a wider programme to increase detention capacity.

The department says people detained at Haslar will be held securely under immigration powers and will not be free to leave the centre or access the local area.

The Haslar proposal is for new accommodation blocks and supporting infrastructure, including internal roads, car parking and other changes across the site.

With recruitment now underway and the planning inquiry approaching, scrutiny is likely to remain focused on whether the proposed additional 470 places should be approved and how any expansion would affect the surrounding Gosport community.