// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Ministers push ahead with housing asylum seekers on ex-military sites
A former military site near Piddington, Oxfordshire, could become a centre for asylum-seekers
Home Office minister Anna Turley has said the government is sticking with plans to accommodate asylum-seekers on former military bases despite protests from local residents.
She told the BBC the government's priority was to ensure asylum-seekers were looked after in a "secure" and "appropriate" place.
That included disused Ministry of Defence properties because they had on-site facilities and were "more contained," she added.
But campaigners in areas earmarked for asylum centres have said small communities with limited infrastructure would not be able to cope with large numbers of people.
There have been protests in Piddington, Oxfordshire, over plans to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers at a site near the village.
Mike Nixon, the vice-chairman of Piddington Parish Council, said there was a "huge amount of concern and worry" among residents and that an asylum centre would have a "dramatic effect" on the way they lived their lives.
The proposal has prompted Piddington to hold a symbolic independence referendum, asking its 400 or so residents if they want to remain part of the UK.
Nixon said: "We're still very frustrated. Andy Burnham did say that he's willing to listen, but we've had no formal contact. No consultation, nothing from the Home Office.
"We felt that the only way of making our views felt was to say 'well if we're not going to be listened to, what's the point of being a part of the country?'"