Campsfield House IRC, Kidlington

Campsfield House sits on the former Campsfield site at Kidlington, on the edge of Oxford. Originally a young offender institution, it operated as a male IRC under successive contracts (Group 4, GEO Group, Mitie) from 1993 to 2018. The Home Office gives 282 as the capacity of the former centre at its 2018 closure. That is the capacity at closure, so earlier years were probably lower. The site was the subject of repeated protests during its operational years^[1]GOV.UK.

ITV Meridian reported in September 2025 that the Home Office had committed to reopening Campsfield with an expanded capacity, citing the need to support an enforced returns-led approach to small boats arrivals^[2]Broadcast. The Home Office factsheet says the centre opened on 1 December 2025, after Phase 1 construction, with 160 bed spaces for detained men in refurbished accommodation, compared with 282 in the former centre^[1]GOV.UK. Phase 2 is to be built alongside the operating centre and would add 240 beds, taking the total to 400. The 400 is a planned figure, not a current capacity.

At an indicative IRC bed-day rate of £350, which is not a published contract figure, the 160 beds now open at Campsfield imply an annual operating run-rate of around £20 million if fully occupied, and the planned 400 beds would imply around £51 million. For the years 1993 to 2018, the same rate on the 282 beds the Home Office gives for the former centre at its 2018 closure implies about £937 million over 9,495 days. That is an estimate based on its 282 beds at closure in 2018: earlier years were probably lower, so it is more likely to overstate than to understate. Capital recommissioning costs are additional and have not been broken out publicly. The May 2025 NAO accommodation report tracked detention separately from the £1.296 billion hotel bill but flagged the policy direction toward more enforced returns capacity^[3]NAO.