A new detention centre is to be built at Gatwick Airport to replace the Oakington centre, in Cambridgeshire, which is due to be closed this September.
The Home Office said BAA Lynton, on behalf of the Airport Property Partnership, would seek planning consent for the airport site, with the detention centre expected to open in 2008. It will have about 420 places for male and female detainees, replacing the Oakington centre which had a total of 400 places.
The move comes at a time when asylum applications are at their lowest level since 1994, and deportations on the increase.
There are currently 10 detention centres in the UK, with 2,545 places in total. 7 of them are run by private companies. Increasingly, the so-called immigration removal centres are being located near airports, such as two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick.
The move comes at a time when asylum applications are at their lowest level since 1994, and deportations on the increase.
There are currently 10 detention centres in the UK, with 2,545 places in total. 7 of them are run by private companies. Increasingly, the so-called immigration removal centres are being located near airports, such as two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick.