RAF Scampton unsuitable for asylum use and must have ‘positive’ future – council

A local authority has reiterated its position that RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire is wholly unsuitable to house asylum seekers after the Government said it is considering the use of military sites as “temporary” accommodation.

Defence minister Luke Pollard said on Monday that the potential use of Ministry of Defence (MoD) bases to house asylum seekers could support plans to end the use of hotels to house migrants seeking refuge in the UK.

He told Sky News the MoD had deployed military planning teams into the Home Office “to look not only at what contribution we can make to security, but also how we can stand up military and non-military sites for the building of temporary accommodation, adequate accommodation, that will enable us to close even more asylum hotels.”

The previous Tory government’s plans to house migrants at Scampton – the former home of both the Red Arrows and the RAF’s 617 Dambusters Squadron – were dropped in September last year by the Home Office amid claims they could cost almost £200 million.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, West Lindsey District Council’s director of planning, regeneration and communities, Sally Grindrod-Smith, said the authority “remains clear in our position that RAF Scampton is wholly unsuitable as a site for asylum accommodation”.

The statement added: “The location presents significant challenges, including the protection of nationally important heritage, the limitations of local rural infrastructure, unresolved contamination issues, and the sheer scale of disruption such a proposal would cause to our communities.

“Working with our development partner Scampton Holdings Limited, we are committed to securing a positive future for RAF Scampton.

“We have already submitted an expression of interest to acquire the site and remain ready to deliver our ambitious £300 million regeneration plan.

“RAF Scampton’s future is too important to be jeopardised by short-term or unsuitable proposals.”

The plan would protect the site’s heritage, create jobs, attract investment, and provide long-term benefits for West Lindsey and beyond, the statement continued.

An independent report published last month concluded that the regeneration scheme could support more than 3,600 jobs, with more than 800 new roles in the defence and aerospace sector.

The proposals would also give a £65 million boost to the tourism sector, the report said.

Speaking last year after plans to use the former air base as accommodation for migrants were abandoned, the border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Government had listened to community feedback, and pledged that faster asylum processing, increased returns and tighter enforcement of immigration rules would reduce demand for accommodation at such sites.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We have committed to close all asylum hotels and to achieve this, we will look at a range of cheaper, more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities.

“We are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery and more detail will be set out in due course.”