The Home Office has begun recruiting staff for a controversial 600-person immigration detention centre in a seaside town which could become Britain’s new migrant processing capital.

Seven jobs have been advertised at Haslar Immigration Removal Centre in Gosport, Hampshire, as the Government presses ahead with plans to reopen and expand the facility despite fierce opposition from local residents.

The recruitment drive comes amid growing concerns that the town is becoming a major hub for Britain’s immigration system, with a nearby historic sea fort also being considered as a reception centre for small boat migrants arriving from France.

Gosport has already witnessed repeated anti-migrant demonstrations after people crossing the Channel were brought ashore in the area, with police warning that the protests have cost taxpayers around £800,000.

And residents living near Haslar have accused the Home Office of ignoring their concerns about security, privacy and the disruption caused by years of construction work.

The Government is now advertising for seven ‘detention engagement officers’ at the centre, offering salaries of almost £35,000 to successful applicants.

The roles, which are graded at executive officer level within the Civil Service, will involve working directly with detained migrants, providing updates on their immigration cases and monitoring their welfare.

It marks another significant step towards reopening the former detention centre, which closed in 2015.

Seven jobs have been advertised at Haslar Immigration Removal Centre in Gosport, Hampshire 

The recruitment drive comes amid growing concerns that the town is becoming a major hub for Britain’s immigration system, with a nearby historic sea fort also being considered as a reception centre for small boat migrants arriving from France

Fort Blockhouse, which was built in the 19th century to guard the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, could be used as a reception centre for small boat migrants 

Under the Home Office’s proposals, the first phase of the development would create accommodation for 130 detainees, before a second phase increases capacity to 600 across three-storey accommodation blocks.

The department’s recruitment advert describes the jobs as an opportunity to make a difference to people being held in immigration detention.

It states: ‘This is a rewarding and varied role where no two days are the same.

‘You will engage with people from diverse backgrounds, make a meaningful difference during a challenging period in their lives and develop valuable communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills within a supportive team environment.’

Staff will be expected to liaise with immigration caseworkers, healthcare professionals and detention centre employees to ensure detainees receive appropriate support.

The advert adds: ‘As part of the Detention Engagement Team at Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, you will work directly with detained individuals, providing information about their case progression, supporting their welfare and contributing to a safe, secure and professional environment while helping to maintain effective immigration controls.’

Applicants must be prepared to work early and late shifts, including weekends, with a minimum working week of 22.2 hours. Successful candidates will also undergo counter-terrorist security checks.

But the recruitment drive is likely to intensify anger among residents who have been fighting the expansion.

Hundreds of objections have been submitted to the planning application, with homeowners warning that the proposed three-storey buildings could overlook their gardens and windows.

Migrants clamber to board a taxi boat at the beach in Oye Plage near Calais in northern France earlier this week 

Others have raised concerns about security and the impact of construction traffic, dust and noise over a period of up to three years.

The controversy has prompted the Planning Inspectorate to order a full public inquiry into the proposals, which is due to begin on November 17.

The inquiry, which represents the highest level of scrutiny available for the planning application, follows sustained pressure from residents, Gosport’s Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage and local councillors.

Dame Caroline has accused the Home Office of doing ‘its utmost to avoid engaging with local people’ over the plans.

Following a meeting with residents living closest to the site, she said: ‘I was disappointed that given the tragic record of engagement by the Home Office they decided to refuse this opportunity to meet the people living closest to Haslar and hear what they had to say.

‘Residents spoke very powerfully about the impact this is already having on their daily lives, whether that is construction traffic passing their front doors, concerns about security or simply not knowing who at the Home Office they are supposed to contact when something goes wrong.’

Welcoming the decision to hold an inquiry, she added: ‘This is an important victory for local residents whose opposition has been vindicated. An inquiry is exactly what I called for in my objection.

‘The Planning Inspectorate has recognised that there is considerable local interest in these proposals and, crucially, that some of the issues we have raised are sufficiently complex that they need to be properly tested.’

The latest developments come as Gosport faces the prospect of becoming an increasingly important destination for migrants crossing the Channel.

Fort Blockhouse, a 19th-century military fort built to defend the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, has also been identified as a possible reception centre under contingency plans for handling small boat arrivals.

The site is less than a mile from Haslar, raising fears that two major pieces of immigration infrastructure could be concentrated within the same community.

The proposals have alarmed military families living nearby, while Dame Caroline has warned that establishing a new processing centre could encourage people smugglers to send more boats towards Hampshire.

Although most small boats have traditionally headed towards Kent, smugglers have increasingly been using routes from Normandy to Hampshire, forcing migrants to undertake longer and potentially more dangerous journeys.

Dame Caroline previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Portsmouth Harbour is an inappropriate disembarkation spot for migrant boats.

‘Hopefully future Channel crossings towards our area will now be taken straight to Kent, with its existing processing infrastructure.

‘We don’t have appropriate facilities or transport infrastructure and opening up new sites here would simply incentivise more illegal boats to make this perilous journey from France.’

Tensions have already erupted into protests across Portsmouth and Gosport.

On September 6, hundreds of demonstrators blocked roads in Portsmouth in an attempt to prevent coaches carrying 140 migrants from leaving the city.

Just over two weeks later, masked protesters descended on Gosport marina after reports emerged that another group of Channel migrants was due to arrive.

Anti-migrant activist ‘Danny Tommo’, whose real name is Daniel Thomas, had told supporters that around 50 migrants were expected to be brought ashore.

Border Force boats were subsequently diverted to Dover, while disorder in Gosport led to six arrests and three coaches waiting to collect migrants required police escorts.

On October 4, tensions flared again when 149 migrants were brought ashore in Gosport aboard two RNLI lifeboats following a 70-mile journey from Normandy.

Nearby Portsmouth Lifeboat Station was also forced to suspend operations after volunteers suffered physical and online abuse.

The growing unrest has prompted Hampshire’s Conservative police and crime commissioner, Donna Jones, to demand urgent action from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Mrs Jones has revealed that policing the demonstrations has cost around £800,000 and has called on the Home Office to reimburse the force.

She has also urged ministers to ensure that small boat landings in Portsmouth and Gosport ‘do not become a regular occurrence’.

The commissioner said the incidents were having a ‘huge impact’ on policing resources and complained that she had received no response to an earlier letter to the Home Office following the September 6 protests.

She is seeking further details about discussions between Ms Mahmood and the French interior minister, including whether additional French resources will be deployed to prevent migrants making the increasingly used crossing from Normandy.

The recruitment of staff at Haslar comes before the public inquiry has examined the objections to the centre’s expansion, leaving residents facing continued uncertainty over the future of their neighbourhood.

The Home Office’s own recruitment website confirms the positions carry a basic salary of £34,415, with an additional allowance of up to £6,545.73 for the Gosport roles. 

However, the application deadline was October 15, meaning recruitment has begun but applications for this round have now closed.