RESIDENTS living just metres away from a new 600-person immigration centre in a seaside town have described living through “three years of hell” during site’s construction.
Locals say Haslar Immigration Removal Centre [IRC] near Gosport, Hants, is one of the closest IRCs to people’s homes in the country.
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Locals have railed against the dust, noise, traffic and effect on their house prices brought on by the construction of the “appalling” IRC.
Residents said they had raised “worries about security and privacy” but that their opposition to the IRC has been ignored.
David Robinson, 65, is a retired civil servant at the MOD who has lived at his home opposite the site for 20 years.
He said: “It’s been about three years of this. A lot longer than we were told. They were looking at bringing 180 people in and said it would take six months. Our main opposition was about parking.
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“But then they expanded the plans and it all kicked off. Instead of six months, it’s been three years of hell.
“I’m 20 metres away. We have vehicles parking opposite at 6am, we’ve had lorries reversing into the road, with three or four lorries being here at a time. It’s appalling.
“One of the lorries was a cement mixer that brought my telephone wire down and it had to be put back up.
“It’s been a constant battle. Now they want to put big blocks in to go up from 130 people to 600. The blocks will overlook all the properties on that side.”
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David also said he had security concerns after finding out the accommodation would house some 600 “detainees.”
The Home Office claimed plans for the site always detailed a 600 person capacity.
David also raised concerns around privacy, but said that his complaints fell on deaf ears.
He added: “There will be 600 detainees – I’ll refer to them as detainees. The Home Office refers to them as residents but they’re not.
“We have got worries about the security for us all. It’s not like prison where the inmates have work like joinery or mail to keep them occupied. There will be 600 of them with nothing to do.
“And while some might be depressed or in a bad way, some could be hardened criminals from Albania. If they stage an escape we will be the first targets. We have worries about that.
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“It’s also going to put massive strain on our medical system when people already have to wait six weeks to see a doctor.
“The Home Office say it’s not going to affect us because they have their own prefabricated medical room but if somebody in there has a heart attack or needs an x-ray, they’re going to need to go to the same hospital as everybody else.
“And if someone in there gets bail, where do they go? We don’t know who these people are.
“We’re all concerned about privacy. The high rise blocks will be 12 metres high and I’m only 17 metres from the fence.
“I accept we need IRCs but it really isn’t a suitable location. We’ve all complained about what it means for us but the government will just say it’s creating jobs and that money is going back into the local economy.
“Planning doesn’t really take into account how people feel. Wildlife has more rights than we do.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Hughes, 62, who is being forced to sell his house because his wife is sick and needs to go into care, has lost £50,000 after the property remained on the market for 18 months.
Locals have since been blindsided by an expansion to the project, which saw the original plan for a 130-person centre evolve to include three-storey blocks capable of housing 600 people.
Andrew said: “It’s been an issue. I’ve had to sell my house for £50k less than what it would have been, but I had to sell because my wife is sick and is going into care.
“It took 18 months to sell. My wife’s very poorly and my daughter has adapted her house in the Midlands but it was very expensive.
“I haven’t found anywhere to live myself yet. If that hadn’t have been happening I’d have more money to help out with.
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“I used to work over there. I worked in prisons and immigration for 37 years, and lived here for 12 years.
“It used to be an immigration detention centre but on a much smaller scale and it wasn’t open 24/7 like it will be. We had issues with parking but that was about it.”
And, Angela Bryant, 88, says her garden backs onto the centre and she worries people will be able to see into her home.
The retired BT telephonist said: “My garden backs out onto it. It will really harm the price of my house which won’t harm me but I’m leaving it to my daughter.
“It’s noisy and it’s going to get worse because the plan has just increased by 470 people. They will be able to see into my garden and my home when they go out for exercise.
“And there will be so much traffic. It will ruin the area.
“We have paid in all our lives, why should they get it? They shouldn’t be here in the first place.”
Graham Phillips, 75, has lived in Gosport his whole life but has struggled to sell his home because of the IRC.
He said: “I’m just fed up with it all. My house has been on the market for 10 months. It’s frustrating.
“It might sell if we drop the price down fast enough, someone might be willing it overlook the immigration centre, but that won’t help our children or our grandchildren.
“I was told it would be north of £700,000, but after three valuations it went down to £650,000. It’s got nowhere near that.”
He was offered £610,000 for his seafront property but the sale fell through.
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He continued: “There will be three-storey buildings and a 24/7 bay carpark with a road going right past our garden.
“We just don’t know what it’s going to be like. We’ve never lived with a 600-person Immigration Removal Centre before.
“It used to have 130 people and you wouldn’t know it was there unless they were playing football on a Saturday afternoon.
“It’s the IRC that’s closest to residential homes anywhere in the country. I think there’s one in Oxford that’s a couple of hundred metres – but this is just metres away.”
It comes after swathes of masked “stop the boats” protesters descended on roads around the Port of Dover – bringing the town to a standstill on Saturday.
Holidaymakers and lorries were stuck in huge queues for hours as they battled to access the UK’s busiest ferry port during the anti-migrant rally.
Kent Police monitored the march but said no one was arrested, adding that the group had been dispersed by midday.
Far right activist Daniel Thomas, known as Danny Tommo – an associate of Tommy Robinson – shared a video appearing to be from the protest.
The footage showed the phrase “blood is on your hands” seemingly scrawled near the port along with red paint.
Chants of “stop the boats” and “whose streets? Our streets” could be heard from the crowd during the chaos.
The Government condemned the behaviour of protesters who blocked the port “and the travel disruption it caused.”
Kent Police said no arrests were made after earlier confirming they had been “engaging with protesters” at the scene.
Asked about the Gosport IRC, local MP Dame Caroline Dinenage said: “Since announcing the expansion of Haslar to 600 beds the Government has done its utmost to avoid engaging with local people.
“Last week I invited the Home Office to a public meeting with residents but they failed to attend.
“The height of the buildings is a serious concern compounded by the fact it was revealed without warning at a small engagement session last year.
“Since then all planning decisions have been taken away from the local authority and there are limited opportunities for local people to have their say, something I have raised repeatedly with Ministers.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “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.
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“All Crown Development planning applications require extensive engagement, and we encourage residents and stakeholders to share their views through the formal process.”
The Sun has contacted Gosport Borough Council for comment.