Lunar House

Lunar House is a 20-storey office block in Croydon, in South London. It is situated at 40 Wellesley Road, on its east side, and houses the headquarters of UK Visas and Immigration, a division of the Home Office in the United Kingdom.The buildingThe building was completed in 1970. In common with a neighbouring building Apollo House and others developed by Harry Hyams, the building's name was inspired by the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon in 1969. During the 1970s and 1980s the building housed some offices of the Property Services Agency.Immigration serviceThe building's name has become synonymous with the Immigration function of the Home Office, and is perceived by the British public as the front line of Britain's immigration service as the main Public Enquiry Office is based here.Services and facilities at Lunar House have been criticised in the past. In the summer of 2004, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons conducted unannounced inspections of short-term holding facilities attached to immigration reporting centres, and found particular problems at Lunar House: "Lunar House is the main route through which families are detained at Oakington Reception Centre. In spite of this, it had inadequate child protection procedures, and staff were not alert to the need to ensure that agreed safeguards on the detention of children were implemented."In 2005, a report by the South London Citizens enquiry into service provision by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate found that "It was perceived that minimum standards of comfort afforded to British citizens do not apply to migrants waiting for services at Lunar House. Areas of immediate concern include the quality of facilities for applicants, the quality and fairness of transactions, the quality of IT and record keeping and the working conditions of staff." Lunar House was subsequently refurbished in 2005. At present access to the building requires Airport-style security checks.