Many residents had already made their feelings known

The site, on converted MoD land between the villages of Arncott and Piddington near Bicester, was given the go-ahead by deputy prime minister John Prescott on Tuesday.

Villagers said they were "shocked" by the go-ahead, which appeared to overrule a planning inspector's decision that the land was not suitable.

Many thought it would pose problems for both local residents and the asylum seekers and said there could be tensions between the two communities.

Dionne Arrowsmith, founder of the residents' Bicester Action Group (BAG), insisted the centre was "not in the interests of the local community, the local service providers nor indeed the asylum seekers themselves".

Asylum seekers are not monsters but there are going to be up to 750 young men in the camp and what are they going to do with themselves? Piddington parish council chairman Marjorie Read

She continued: "We believe, as do all of the welfare organisations, that these centres should be smaller and in urban areas where services and support facilities already exist."

The centre will have space for 400 single men, 50 single women and 300 family members.

They will have to sleep at the centre but will be allowed out in the day and evening, the Home Office said.

In Piddington, parish council chairman Marjorie Read said many residents would now want to leave the area.

"We know that asylum seekers are not monsters but there are going to be up to 750 young men in the camp and what are they going to do with themselves?" she said.

"The bottom end of the site is less than a mile from some of the houses in the village. But we have no shop, no post office and just a pub - there's nothing for them here."

'Detention centre'

Rebecca Mitchell-Farmer of Bicester Refugee Support said it was also opposed to the centre, for humanitarian reasons.

"We don't want it to go ahead, the asylum seekers will be too isolated and stigmatised. It's all but a detention centre," she told BBC News Online.

However, if the site went ahead the group would offer "practical and emotional support" to the asylum seekers, she said.

I'd like to think the community would give them time to prove themselves but I suppose it's a lot of people to have in one small are Amanda Morrissey, local resident

Others raised the spectre of racial tension in the area.

Brian Blaylock, 38, of Arncott, said: "I can see crime going right up, I can see tension between the asylum seekers and the villagers and I can see racism brewing up. I think there will be trouble."

Mr Blaylock said he was also worried about the effect on house prices - saying his had already fallen in value by 25%.

But Amanda Morrissey, 27, who works in a pub in Arncott, said the villagers would try to get on with any new arrivals.

"We have such a mix of people in here anyway, from squaddies to locals who have lived here all their lives that you never know.

Judicial review

"We have a lot of biker events here, and sometimes they have a bad reputation but we've never had any trouble and it will probably be the same with asylum seekers.

"I'd like to think the community would give them time to prove themselves but I suppose it's a lot of people to have in one small area."

The planning inspector said they will put further strain on already over-stretched local services Local MP Tony Baldry

Others complained that Mr Prescott had ignored a planning inspector's ruling that the site was not suitable.

Cherwell District Council, which has consistently opposed the centre, said it was "bitterly disappointed" by the go-ahead.

It would be studying documents to see if it has a case for a judicial review, it said.

Local Conservative MP Tony Baldry also raised the possibility of a judicial review.

"These centres are the wrong size and in the wrong location," he said.

"The planning inspector said they will put further strain on already over-stretched local services and they are contrary to the government's own planning guidance."