Parish council vows legal challenge over plan for 1,200-person asylum centre near Piddington in Oxfordshire

Ministers face a legal challenge over plans to convert a Ministry of Defence site near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington into accommodation for more than 1,200 detained asylum seekers. The parish council says it will ‘absolutely’ launch legal action.

It emerged on Thursday that Angela Rayner, the housing and communities secretary, has approved full planning permission. The decision was welcomed by the Home Office, which wants to end the use of asylum hotels.

Tim McNally, the local parish council chair, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there would be ‘many actions’ by villagers, and that ministers should ‘absolutely’ be braced for a legal challenge, which would need to be lodged within the next six weeks.

McNally said: ‘There's going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward.’ Asked if ministers should be braced for a legal challenge, he said: ‘Absolutely, absolutely.’

Villagers opposing the plans even made a symbolic attempt to declare the village independent from the rest of the country after a referendum of its 350 residents, according to the report.

Campaigners could also apply the new Hillsborough law, which is being considered by parliament. Once passed, the law would create a legally enforceable duty of candour compelling public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place. McNally said: ‘The Hillsborough law is there for a reason, and we're going to apply it.’

Defence minister Luke Pollard said the government would continue to engage with the community. He told LBC it was ‘pretty obvious’ there was a strong sense of feeling from the community around Bicester, especially in Piddington. He said there were still a few more stages to go, so it was not yet fully locked in and delivered.

A Home Office spokesperson said a final decision to proceed had yet to be taken. The spokesperson said the government is working on a fairer distribution of asylum accommodation across the country, with over £1bn saved in costs since the election. This includes closing all asylum hotels and moving to alternative accommodation, including former military sites, designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community, the spokesperson said.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch called the plans a ‘betrayal of the women of Piddington’. On social media she said she had met a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep when she visited Piddington, and that the government had said it was listening but had completely ignored the community's concerns.