Families living next to an immigration removal centre in Gosport, Hampshire, describe their lives as "hell" as refurbishment works disrupt them and plans to expand the site into a 600-bed facility raise fears. The Haslar Immigration Removal Centre (IRC), closed since 2015, is being redeveloped in two phases. The first phase, currently underway, refurbishes the existing centre to provide around 130 detention spaces. A second phase would add new three-storey accommodation blocks, increasing capacity to as many as 600 detainees. The centre will house foreign nationals who have served prison sentences and people who have broken immigration rules, pending deportation.
Construction disruption and resident complaints
David Robinson, 65, a retired civil servant whose house on Fort Road faces the site, told the Express: "We've had cars parking outside, 6 o'clock in the morning, banging their car doors, getting their equipment out, waking everybody up." He also had an incident where a contractor's vehicle caught a telephone cable, pulling part of the soffit from his house. Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke with her voice breaking, describing the situation as "hell." She recalled builders with stereos "thumping 'boom, boom, boom', having big conversations and sometimes slanging matches to each other, shouting and swearing, beeping their horns every morning, every single day." Residents fought for measures like traffic cones and a parking warden, though problems continue.
Concerns over the expansion
Locals also worry about living next to a 600-bed detention centre operating around the clock. Mr Robinson recalled "horrendous" parking problems and detainee visitors knocking on his door before Haslar's 2015 closure. He was told the site could have four heavy goods vehicles arriving every hour for operational needs. He believes 600 people "is not the sort of volume of detainees that you want in a residential area," adding, "It would be better suited to a rural area." Katie Wakefield, 58, a retired police officer, said the expansion left her feeling her neighbourhood was "being invaded." She told the Express: "I don't know anywhere in the whole of Europe that's got a building, an immigration building, which is so close to people living with their families and their gardens. We're all going to be overlooked." She added that residents "have had no say in it whatsoever" and "have been kept in the dark."
Planning process and local opposition
The Home Office has submitted the plans as a Crown development of national importance, meaning the application will be decided through a special national planning process rather than by the local council. Gosport Borough Council leader Zoe Huggins said there had been "very little communication" with residents, and the planning application contains extensive redactions. "Quite rightly, that raises suspicion, fear and uncertainty because you're trying to fill in the blanks," she said. Susan Barrett, 73, a retired logistics worker, is angry at the amount of taxpayers' money going to the development during a housing crisis. When Haslar closed in 2015, the Ministry of Justice promoted residential housing on the site with roughly 225 homes, but those plans were scrapped in 2022 as detention refurbishment was confirmed at £101.5million. Mrs Barrett fears the development could devalue her house and drive her from her hometown. Rightmove figures show the price of a terraced house on Fort Road dropping from £410,000 in 2023 to an estimated £390,000 today. She said: "Privacy's gone. It's too near private properties. I can see the sea from my windows. I will lose all that. If I could, I'd get out of England."
The phase two expansion has not yet been approved. Awaiting a final decision, residents feel they have little control. With limited Home Office communication due to site sensitivity, they currently have "no idea" about the outcome. The Government argues the redevelopment is needed to provide additional detention capacity for people with no right to remain in Britain. Latest Home Office statistics show 22,586 people entered immigration detention in the year ending March 2026, 7% more than the previous 12 months. A Home Office spokesperson said: "All Crown Development planning applications require extensive engagement, and we encourage residents and stakeholders to share their views through the formal process. We make no apology for significantly expanding our detention capacity which will see more than 45,000 additional foreign criminals and illegal migrants removed over the coming decade."
