Plans for asylum seeker centre revealed

A historic Second World War airfield on the South Coast was revealed today as the first possible site for a new accommodation centre for asylum seekers.

The ex-Royal Navy airfield HMS Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire would hold 400 single male asylum seekers if the Home Office gets planning approval. It would be the first of a new range of small centres with on-site healthcare designed to place no burden on local community resources.

As the Government signalled its interest in the site, ministers gave up hope of establishing centres at three other sites in Wales, Scotland and Lincolnshire after encountering local opposition.

The latest developments show the challenge facing Home Secretary David Blunkett after Tony Blair committed the Government to halving the number of asylum claims by September.

Ministers are hoping that the number of applications will fall from a peak of 9,000 per month after the closure of the refugee camp at Sangatte, near Calais, and tougher security at the Channel ports in France.

But figures due to be published at the end of February will show that 2002 saw a record number of claims, topping 100,000 when asylum seekers and their dependents are taken into account. The prospect of war in Iraq is also likely to create a surge of fresh bids.

Ministers see accommodation centres as a key component in tightening up the asylum system because they will ease pressure on communities where the Home Secretary claims doctors' surgeries have been "swamped".

While the Government is facing huge public criticism and demands to lock up all asylum seekers on arrival in the UK, the hunt for sites where local people are willing to accept an accommodation centre is proving to be very problematic.

Initial plans for four large centres, each holding 750 asylum applicants, have met huge opposition. The Government abandoned one site in Worcestershire, and protracted planning appeals are taking place into sites at Newton in Nottinghamshire and Bicester in Oxfordshire after local councillors opposed the proposals. Ministers announced plans for smaller centres, but are still likely to face opposition.

The Daedalus site could be a model for others. The site came into service during the First World War and was an important Fleet Air Arm base during the Second World War. It was closed as an MoD base in 1996 and is now home to flying clubs and civil aircraft agencies.

If the centre gets permission, asylum seekers would be free to come and go, but would have to stay in the centre as a condition of Government support.

Home Office minister Bev Hughes said: "I realise there may be some concern among those living near to the site, but I believe that an accommodation centre is not a detriment to the local community."