Small asylum accommodation centres would be a better solution than the large complex planned for Bicester, according to a local councillor.

David Hughes, the Cherwell district councillor who represents Arncott and Piddington, suggested the idea as an alternative to the planned 750-person centre near the villages.

He was speaking on the ITV programme It's Your Shout, which held a debate on the plan for centres on Ministry of Defence land at Bicester and RAF Newton, near Nottingham.

Members of Bicester Action Group and other people from the area went to Carlton studios in Nottingham to record the programme, broadcast on January 15.

They were joined by Oxford West and Abingdon Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris, Conservative Alan Duncan and Labour's John Heppell.

Mr Hughes said smaller centres were a success in Holland and he believed they could work in the UK.

He said: "The Government should be taking advice on what happens in Holland. Every district in the country could run smaller, manageable sites.

"Let each district manage a site and also determine where an accommodation centre is located."

Dionne Arrowsmith, co-founder of the Bicester Action Group, said afterwards: "I believe small centres would work because people can cope with the numbers.

"I can see the logic of putting everything on site, but I do think numbers is the key.

"Any centre would have to be proportionate to the area it was built -- I don't think villages should have to cope with these high numbers."

Tell us what you think.