Residents pledge to 'fight' government plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton

• Video report by Emma Wilkinson

Residents living in former military houses next to RAF Scampton have reacted with anger after the government confirmed plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers on the base.

The Lincolnshire site – home to the famous Dambusters flying squad in the Second World War and more recently the Red Arrows aerobatics team – is one of a number of military bases earmarked for use by the Home Office. The government wants to use them to accommodate some of the tens of thousands of migrants arriving in small boats.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the plan would save millions of pounds currently being spent on housing migrants in hotels and would "ease the pressure" on local communities. 

But many local residents have serious concerns about safety, pressure on local infrastructure and preservation of the site’s heritage.

Sarah Carter, who can see the runway at RAF Scampton from her house, said many who live nearby are concerned about safety.

She said: "We are well aware that it is a minority that cause those problems, but there's potential they're still going to come on our doorstep.

"We want to know how we are going to be protected and looked after if they decide to put 1,500 people here."

Ms Carter, a member of RAF Scampton Action Group, said the community would "fight" the decision.

She said: "Today's day one, it's just starting, now the fight starts."

The plans for RAF Scamptom mean a £300 million regeneration project to transform the base into a centre for aviation heritage, education and tourism has been put on hold.

Resident Jason Bayliss said the benefits of a heritage centre would be "enormous".

He said: "Not just for here and not just for Lincoln but it would be for the county and the country."

He added: "In a time when we hear about levelling up, it just beggars belief."

Hamish Falconer, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Lincoln, has started a petition against the plans.

Mr Falconer, who has previously worked for the Foreign Office, said the proposal was not "a serious answer."

He said when the the UK military and foreign office is in war zones, personnel "would often live in shipping like container accommodation."

He said: "We would often call it living in 'podland' and if they try to turn this into 'podland' they're going to end up with carnage.

"This is a plan which is going to be inhumane for those that live here and it's going to put pressure on local services which are already absolutely on their knees."

Mr Jenrick said there would be a "significant" package of support for the area around RAF Scampton.

He said that the Government will want to work closely with the local MP, Sir Edward Leigh, to "mitigate" any issues that arise out of the site.

But West Lindsey District Council has said it was "considering all legal options, including urgent judicial proceedings" in response to the announcement.

Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities, said: "We are in constant dialogue with the Home Office to seek to demonstrate to them that RAF Scampton would not be an appropriate site for asylum accommodation."

She added: "Any move to use the site for asylum seekers would likely curtail the nationally significant plans, which the Council has been working on since 2018."

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