Campsfield immigration removal centre: factsheet
Published 11 June 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/campsfield-immigration-removal-centre-factsheet/campsfield-immigration-removal-centre-factsheet
June 2025
Introduction
The Home Office is proceeding with plans to redevelop an IRC at the former Campsfield House, near Oxford. Development will be undertaken in two phases: refurbishment of existing buildings (Phase 1) and new build accommodation (Phase 2).
Plans
Campsfield will be a mixture of refurbished and new-build accommodation built to the latest standards, taking account of findings from external scrutiny reports and internal lessons learned reviews to provide modern, safe, secure and connected accommodation for detained men. Around 160 bed spaces will be created in the refurbished accommodation (compared to 282 in the former IRC), with further expansion in future for up to 400 beds.
Planning consent will be obtained before we proceed with phase 2 of the development. As part of our planning for the development of this IRC, we are in discussions with local councillors and Members of Parliament, other stakeholders such as the police, fire, health services and independent oversight bodies.
The site will be a secure IRC. Detained men will be held under immigration powers and will not be free to leave the centre or access the local area. The IRC will have robust physical security measures and appropriate security procedures in place to ensure the facility operates safely and securely.
The IRC will hold a mixture of time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders while we prepare to remove them from the UK. An individual may be detained under immigration powers under certain circumstances, for example whilst their identity is being established, where there is a risk of absconding, or in support of the return of an individual with no legal right to be in the UK.
More information on the how many people are detained or returned?
Facilities and environment
All rooms will meet the standards as set out in the accommodation standards Detention Service Order (DSO). Bedrooms will primarily be dual occupancy.
Any provision of recreational, educational, healthcare, living and faith-related facilities for individuals detained at the facility will be entirely contained onsite.
Healthcare provision is being procured through NHS England, and there will be no impact on primary healthcare services provided within the local community.
Visits will be facilitated in line with those in other centres. Visitors arriving at the nearest main train station will be transported to the centre via a shuttle bus service.
A car park will be provided for staff and visitors. The car park will be safe, secure and will meet the standards required for planning. In addition, there is a regular public bus service from Oxford Parkway Train Station to a bus stop near Campsfield IRC, as well as a shuttle bus service from Oxford Parkway Train Station which will be provided by the Contracted Service Provider (CSP) to ensure visitors who travel by train can easily access the centre.
We have aligned our environmental and climate change sustainability strategy with our suppliers to ensure that the buildings and infrastructure we build at Campsfield contribute towards net zero carbon emissions and reduce operational costs.
Our sustainability performance will be measured using the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) which is a sustainability certification method which uses 10 different measurement categories such as materials, energy, water, waste, pollution and more, to rate environmental performance.
The refurbished and new buildings use sustainable architecture techniques that use the natural environment to reduce energy. This includes air source heat pumps, solar panels to offset energy use, improved insulation, and air tightness.
Costs and contracts
The Home Office is committed to ensuring value for money on all IRC sites. The costs to refurbish/build are approved via a robust government approval process and scrutinised throughout the duration of the build. Costs will be refined during the planning process and once contractors have been onboarded.
Current costs in the public domain:
- Contracts for the provision of operational, management, maintenance and related works and services at Campsfield House IRC and Haslar IRC. Content of this PIN may be subject to change - Find a Tender
The name of the successful contracted service provider for the site will not be known until the procurement process has completed.