Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre is going ahead

Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, near Consett, has been refurbished and, by the end of the year, will be used hold up to 80 foreign nationals for up to four months before they are deported.

Durham County Council objects to the opening of Derwentside Immigration and Removal Centre, which will replace the Yarl’s Wood facility in Bedford, and is going ahead instead of a major housing plan after the site was acquired by the Home Office.

Read more: Durham County Council states opposition to Hassockfield plan

On Tuesday, before the arrival of the first 'residents', the Northern Echo was invited to take a look at the new facilities.

Entrance to the exercise area at Derwentside IRC 

Derwentside IRC is formerly Hassockfield Secure Training Centre 

The exercise area of Derwentside IRC

There is a quirky outdoor settee covered in astroturf 

Campaigners argue the detention of immigrants, including women fleeing war, persecution, sexual violence who may have been subject to trafficking, is inhumane.

But proponents of the scheme, including North-West Durham MP Richard Holden, claim it will create 200 jobs and show the UK is not a ‘soft touch’ when it comes to immigration.

The Home Office said Derwentside IRC will hold a mixture of time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders while preparations are made to remove them from the UK.

Some bedrooms have twin beds so family members can share 

Mr Holden said: “I want people with no right to be in the UK deported. Britain has been a soft touch for far too long and I will back all measures to deliver a strong immigration system that removes those with no right to be in the UK.”

The centre is on the site of the former Medomsley Detention Centre, a borstal now infamous for the systematic abuse of young boys during the 60s and 70s.

On Tuesday, Tom Pursglove, the Minister for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration, inspected the new facilities.

Tom Pursglove MP at Derwentside IRC

He said: “Those experiences are horrendous and we would not wish that on anybody, but this is a new provision.

“This is a detention facility for women and has been designed specifically for women and is responsive to their needs.”

IT facilities are available for the residents 

The facility has private rooms where the needs of new residents are assessed 

Residents are not locked in their rooms at night but will have stay in their section of the centre 

Mary Foy MP, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Durham City, said she shared the feelings of 1,500 people who signed an open letter opposing the opening of the facility.

She said: “The Home Office, and the Conservative Party, continue to use the plight of refugees for political point scoring.

"Something to wheel out to show that they are ‘tough on immigration’.

“But what are they actually being tough on? Because the reality is the people who will be punished will be victims of torture, of rape, and of other gendered violence.

"We will continue to stand against the hostile environment, against this detention centre, and against the Government’s repeated attempts to whip up hatred against vulnerable refugees.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054