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'Nobody asked us': English village rebels against migrant housing plan
A village of just 350 people faces plans to house up to 1,250 migrants at a neighbouring former military site. Residents say nobody asked them, nobody is listening, and their concerns are being dismissed. Their response? A symbolic referendum on leaving the United Kingdom.
Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie travelled to Piddington, Oxfordshire, where residents Mervyn and Alison Wynne, alongside Lizzie Hawes from nearby Bicester, showed her the site and explained their opposition.
The proposed accommodation sits beside a communal green space where children play football, families gather, and villagers walk their dogs.
“We don’t know who these people are,” Lizzie said, questioning the screening of those who would be housed there.
Hawes rejected the suggestion that opposing the plans makes residents extremists. “It’s just normal people. It’s normal people that are scared,” she said. “Nobody asked for it. Nobody voted for it.”
Residents described hundreds of unanswered emails and frustration over what they consider a lack of meaningful consultation. Mervyn said the village’s symbolic independence vote delivered an overwhelming result and attracted international media attention.
They also questioned the government’s use of an urgent planning process, the cost of converting the site and whether local policing could handle the additional population.
Alison said the advice she found for encountering men on her land was to “run and hide” and call police.
During her visit to the entrance, Alexa was ordered to leave by a man who accused her of trespassing and threatened to call police. Residents said a newly painted red line had restricted access where media interviews previously took place.
Watch Alexa’s report to hear directly from the residents. Support her reporting on the ground at MigrantReports.co.uk.
A village of just 350 people faces plans to house up to 1,250 migrants at a neighbouring former military site. Residents say nobody asked them, nobody is listening, and their concerns are being dismissed. Their response? A symbolic referendum on leaving the United Kingdom.
Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie travelled to Piddington, Oxfordshire, where residents Mervyn and Alison Wynne, alongside Lizzie Hawes from nearby Bicester, showed her the site and explained their opposition.
The proposed accommodation sits beside a communal green space where children play football, families gather, and villagers walk their dogs.
“We don’t know who these people are,” Lizzie said, questioning the screening of those who would be housed there.
Hawes rejected the suggestion that opposing the plans makes residents extremists. “It’s just normal people. It’s normal people that are scared,” she said. “Nobody asked for it. Nobody voted for it.”
Residents described hundreds of unanswered emails and frustration over what they consider a lack of meaningful consultation. Mervyn said the village’s symbolic independence vote delivered an overwhelming result and attracted international media attention.
They also questioned the government’s use of an urgent planning process, the cost of converting the site and whether local policing could handle the additional population.
Alison said the advice she found for encountering men on her land was to “run and hide” and call police.
During her visit to the entrance, Alexa was ordered to leave by a man who accused her of trespassing and threatened to call police. Residents said a newly painted red line had restricted access where media interviews previously took place.
Watch Alexa’s report to hear directly from the residents. Support her reporting on the ground at MigrantReports.co.uk.
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