Government awards £1.2m contract for controversial asylum site design

The government has awarded a £1.2 million contract for initial design work on the proposed asylum seeker site near Bicester, the town’s MP Calum Miller said. He said the Home Office confirmed the award as plans for the MOD Bicester Site A continue to move forward. While the department maintains no final decision has been made, Miller criticized ministers for spending taxpayers’ money while the scheme faces legal and political challenge. The plan, submitted formally in September, would convert part of the former military site between Piddington and Upper Arncott into accommodation for up to 1,256 single adult men aged 18 to 65, operating for an initial 10 years.