Piddington symbolically voted to leave the UK in September over the plans

The government will face a legal challenge over plans to house more than 1,200 asylum seekers at a former military site near Piddington, the parish council chairman has said.

Planning permission for the development at the MoD Bicester site near the Oxfordshire village was approved by the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner after the Home Office used a fast-track route for projects deemed to be urgently needed and of national importance.

Opponents have six weeks to challenge the decision. Parish council chairman Tim McNally said ministers should "absolutely" be ready for a legal challenge.

Defence minister Luke Pollard said the government would continue to engage with the community.

Piddington, a village of about 350 people, symbolically voted to leave the UK in September over the planned use for the site, and last month the group Wrong Plan Wrong Site appealed for a judicial review into the proposals.

Up to 1,256 men could be housed at the site near Bicester under the plans

McNally told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the village could also apply the new Hillsborough Law.

Once passed, the law would create a legally enforceable duty of candour which compels public officials and authorities to act transparently when investigations and inquiries take place.

McNally told the programme: "Last night, [Prime Minister] Andy Burnham was on a podium talking about the violence, sexual violence towards women, and bringing it upon the media industry as their responsibility to manage.

"But the reality is, is that this is exactly what the government is doing to us here."

Asked how the village would respond, he said: "There's going to be many actions, you will see. We will disclose that as we move forward.

"Today is a day of reflection, and we'll work out where we plan to go from this point. But I will say, the Hillsborough Law is there for a reason, and we're going to apply it."

Asked if ministers should be braced for a legal challenge, he said: "Absolutely, absolutely."

A government report said the decision received 3,177 representations against and one in support.

It also said Rayner had ruled permission via an Urgent Crown Development application should be granted because "national demand for asylum accommodation remains high".

The permission allows for demolition of existing buildings, the building of new modular accommodation, and provisions for health and welfare facilities.

Melise Witkin shared her concerns about the site with the BBC

Melise Witkin, who has lived in Piddington for six years, told the BBC that she was "extremely disappointed but not surprised" to hear the plans had been approved.

She said she moved to the village because she wanted "tranquility" and to live in a community, which she said "we have".

"Where are they [the asylum seekers] going? We've got no pavements, we've got no street lights, we've got no pub, we've got no shop, so what are they going to do?"

Jo Haw-Cook said the village will "carry on fighting"

Jo Haw-Cook, who has lived in the village for 56 years, said she is "saddened" but "not surprised".

Speaking to the BBC earlier, she said: "There's still a long way to go, and we're still going to fight on.

"I think the mood is reasonably positive, obviously we are disappointed, but we're resilient, and we are a community, and we will come together to fight this as a community."

Defence minister Luke Pollard told LBC: "It's pretty obvious that there's a strong sense of feeling from the community around Bicester, especially in Piddington.

"There's still a few more stages to go here, so it's not yet fully locked in and delivered, so that we can understand where the concerns are, so they can be mitigated.

"I recognise that any change for the people around MoD Bicester will be a concern, and that's why it's so important that the Home Office engages with the community."

A Home Office spokesperson said on Thursday: "Planning permission allows us to continue to progress the use of MoD Bicester. However, a final decision to proceed is yet to be taken.

"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.

"These are designed to be self-contained, with 24/7 security and CCTV, to minimise the impact on the local community."

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch during her visit to Piddington in September

In a statement posted on social media, Bicester Town Council said it is "deeply disappointed" by the government's decision to grant planning permission.

"This decision was taken through the Urgent Crown Development process, bypassing normal local planning scrutiny, despite strong and well-founded objections... regarding the suitability of the site, infrastructure capacity, community safety, and the lack of meaningful consultation," it said.

The council said it will now prepare a formal response to the government "setting out its continuing concerns and seeking clear assurances on the issues raised".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the plans were a "betrayal of the women of Piddington" and "emblematic of Labour and Angela Rayner's disregard for the law and women and girls' safety".

She said on social media: "When I visited Piddington I met a village terrified of what was about to land on their doorstep.

"The Government said it was listening, instead it's completely ignored this community's concerns.

"The 1,000+ male migrants that Labour are about to deposit in Oxfordshire are in Britain illegally. They should be deported as soon as possible, not housed in areas completely unsuitable for the task."

Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said Piddington has become "ground zero for the invasion of Britain".

Speaking in Piddington, he told broadcasters: "Despite an enormous campaign from local residents demanding that the government doesn't dump 1,200 illegal migrant men into their village, Angela Rayner has approved it. It's absolutely shocking."

On whether using the former military site to house asylum seekers is a better use of taxpayers' money than using hotels, Yusuf said: "The only thing that should be happening with these people is them being detained and deported back to the country from which they came."

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