Derwentside IRC, County Durham
Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre at Hassockfield, County Durham, opened in late 2021 as a dedicated female detention facility operated by Mitie under a Home Office contract[1]GOV.UK. It replaced part of the Yarl's Wood detention estate and remains the only female-focused IRC in the north of England. Refugee and women's groups raised concerns about the rural location, transport, and access to legal advice from the outset[2]Press.
Capacity
84
bedspaces
Per night
£350
per resident
Annual
£11m
estimated
Background
The Derwentside site at Hassockfield occupies the buildings of a former young offender institution. The Home Office announced in 2021 that detention of adult women would move from Yarl's Wood to Derwentside, with Mitie awarded the operational contract[1]GOV.UK.
Female detention concerns
Refugee and women's groups, including Women for Refugee Women, raised early concerns about the centre's rural location and limited public transport, which they argued would constrain detainees' access to legal advisers, family visits and specialist services[2]Press. Inspectorate reports during the centre's early operational period repeatedly examined healthcare, mental health support and Rule 35 reporting.
Cost analysis
Detention bed-day costs are typically substantially higher than asylum hotel rates because of fixed staffing and security overheads. Public estimates put the cost of an IRC bed-day in the range of £350 per person per day. Across 84 bedspaces this implies an annual run-rate of roughly £10.7 million if fully utilised. The May 2025 NAO accommodation contract review treated detention costs separately from the asylum hotel bill of £1.296 billion[3]NAO.
Per-person per-day cost stack (IRC benchmark)
£350- Detention staffing & security£22063%
- Estate / facilities£6017%
- Healthcare & mental health£3510%
- Legal aid & casework£206%
- Transport / removals£154%
Cost in context
Derwentside IRC
£350
benchmark
UK asylum hotel avg
£170
NAO
Asylum dispersed flat
£50
commercial
Hostel bed
£30
commercial
Timeline
Timeline
Pre-2014
Hassockfield used as a young offender institution
2021
Site converted to female IRC
Mitie awarded operational contract.
Dec 2021
Derwentside IRC opens
2022-25
Repeated inspectorate scrutiny on healthcare and Rule 35 reporting
Sources
- Factsheet: Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre — Home Office, Nov 2021
Official factsheet covering the opening of Derwentside IRC near Consett, County Durham as a women's detention centre on the former Hassockfield site.
- Home Office detains women at new Derwentside detention centre — Women for Refugee Women, 2021
Documents campaigner concerns over the opening of Derwentside IRC and its use to detain women, including its remote location and the site's historical association with abuse.
- The Home Office's asylum accommodation contracts — National Audit Office, May 2025
222 hotels in use; £1.296 billion annual (2024/25); per-hotel approximately £5.84 million.