A new French migrant detention centre part funded by the UK faces being shelved by a legal challenge, according to reports.
The centre, which the French originally committed to build in 2023 under Rishi Sunak’s government, is under construction and was expected to be operational by the end of this year.
The building will be used to house migrants detained by French police before they cross the Channel, with space for 140 people. According to reports of the agreement, small boat migrants will be detained at the site until they can be returned to their home country or to another EU member state.
But the completion of the site has now been thrown into jeopardy by an environmental group called Flemish-Artois Coastal Environmental Defense Assembly, known as ADELFA, the BBC reported.
The group challenged the decision to grant a permit to build the detention centre last November, arguing that it violated local planning rules. The challenge was rejected and ADELFA has now filed an appeal at Lille’s Administrative Court.
Migrants can be held in detention for a maximum of 90 days. There are already four UK-run detention sites in France – Calais tourist, Coquelles freight, Coquelles tourist, and Dunkirk – that hold migrants for up to 24 hours.
People who are taken to the sites have their details taken and fingerprints processed and are then released, according to charity workers who support migrants housed there.
The additional detention centre was funded with part of a £160m pot that the UK will pay France for new tactics to halt the numbers of people making the journey across the Channel.
The UK and France agreed a £662m deal last month for the next three years. The UK will pay around £501m for more officers on the beaches of northern France and more surveillance technology, despite a previous boost in funding failing to bring the number of Channel crossings down.
Between 1 January and 25 May this year, 8,565 people crossed the Channel by small boat from France – down 37 per cent on the same period in 2025.
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
