Lee-on-the-Solent is not the right place for an asylum seekers' centre.

That's the stark message Gosport council leader Shaun Cully will take to Home Office minister Beverley Hughes on March 20.

After nearly four weeks of waiting he had his request for the long-awaited private meeting with her agreed yesterday.

Cllr Cully, pictured, will travel to London to tell the asylum and immigration minister his concerns about 400 male asylum seekers being housed at HMS Daedalus.

"This meeting will give me the opportunity of relaying to her, first hand, our concerns and also the reasons we think Daedalus is an inappropriate place to site an asylum centre," he said.

"The message I will tell her is that the infrastructure of Lee-on-the-Solent will not be able to cope."

Cllr Cully will also extend an invitation to Mrs Hughes to come to Gosport and see for herself the "quiet community" of Lee-on-the-Solent.

It's the second breakthrough for campaigners in as many days. Yesterday it was revealed Mrs Hughes would meet critics at a public meeting.

John Beavis, chairman of Daedalus Action Group said: "I know Gosport MP Peter Viggers had tried to get her to come down before Monday.

"We are pleased Cllr Cully will deliver an invitation from the people of Lee-on-the-Solent. We want her to come and see the area and be aware of the strength of feeling locally and take away a clear message that the centre is not wanted here."

In a separate development campaigners fighting the plans yesterday grew increasingly alarmed at the amount of police-escorted cars entering and leaving the Daedalus site.

A Home Office spokesman insisted that "nothing exceptional" was happening and that work by architects and engineers to survey the former airfield's suitability was still going on.

The Daedalus Action Group is calling on residents to convene outside Gosport town hall at 6pm on Monday to hear the outcome of the visit by Home Office officials.

It is expected officials will make a technical submission that will confirm the government's proposals to house 400 male asylum seekers in Lee-on-the-Solent.

Spokeswoman for the group Elaine Kent said: "It is not a march or a rally but we want people to be at the town hall at 6pm to hear the announcement by the council over what happened during the meeting with the Home Office."