Home Office to hold 'engagement events' over RAF Scampton asylum housing plans

The Home Office will hold a series of "engagement events" over plans to turn a former RAF base into a centre for asylum seekers – more than five months after they were announced.

Under the controversial plans, up to 2,000 migrants – mostly single men – will be housed at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, the former home of the famous Dambusters squadron and Red Arrows display team.

Occupants are due to start arriving on the site in October this year.

The Home Office will host four events at the Lincolnshire Showground on Thursday, 31 August, to speak to residents.

Up to 100 people will be admitted to each session. Only those living in either the former service family accommodation or nearby villages of Scampton, Aisthorpe, Brattleby, Cammeringham and North Carlton can attend.

A message on the event’s private ticket link says: "We fully appreciate the short notice for this event, however, given time constraints and availability of venues and speakers, we know how important it is that this event takes place, and we want to ensure the invite is there for your local MP to be able to attend.

“The event will provide you, the local community, with an opportunity to gain insight into the Home Office’s proposals, engage in thoughtful discussions and provide reassurances to your concerns."

The move comes after a confidential meeting held last Thursday which was attended by Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh, various Parish councils, and members of the Save Our Scampton campaign group.

In recent days, local residents have reported seeing portable cabins near the village of Hemswell, fuelling speculation they are intended for Scampton.

At Thursday's meeting, the head of the Save Our Scampton group Sarah Carter said the Home Office representative acknowledged the balancing act involved, as conditions in the camp should not be better than those for local residents.

“One of the things that pricked my ears up was when they said they need to make it fair with what they supply to the migrants,” she said.

“[The representative] said they need to take care of [the migrants'] mental and physical health, but they cannot be better catered for than local residents.”

It was also revealed that new security fencing is being put up all around the base to prevent people from being able to see inside.

Mrs Carter said she was optimistic that West Lindsey District Council’s judicial review into the plans would stall them. A date for the High Court hearing is currently undecided, but is anticipated to be scheduled for this autumn.

Scampton councillor Roger Patterson, who also attended last week’s meeting, described the Home Office’s efforts at community engagement as merely a “box-ticking exercise”, but admitted that the meeting wasn’t entirely fruitless.

The Conservative councillor acknowledged that the Home Office representative indicated an intent to refurbish one of the historic hangars and to preserve the grave of Wing Commander Guy Gibson’s black Labrador - a topic which has been controversial in the past.

“They have given a cast iron guarantee that the dog’s grave is going to be looked after,” he said.

There was also an expressed intent to engage in discussions with Scampton Holdings Ltd, aiming for a potential compromise that could preserve its £300 million private investment deal.

“Hopefully, this means we can get this £300 million development deal off the ground, this matters more to me than whether we have immigrants on the base or not," said Cllr Patterson.

“The Home Office seems to have softened its position now, so it gives me some hope that our future might not be as bleak as we once thought.”

Councillor Patterson also said he remained hopeful that the judicial review could prevent the asylum centre from going ahead but added: “Sometimes in life, you have to compromise and make the best out of a bad situation.”

Hamish Falconer, Lincoln’s Labour candidate for the next general election, expressed deep concerns over the Home Office’s handling of RAF Scampton.

Falconer, who has been working closely with Scampton Holdings Ltd over the past few months, described the Home Office’s actions as "desperate".

“They are rushing a plan which is falling apart at the seams,” he said. “They are putting shipping containers for 50 people on the base which will scare investors off our £300 million deal.”

A petition started by Mr Falconer against the Home Office plans has passed 75,000 signatures since it was started earlier this year.

Among the signatories are at least 500 Conservatives who have openly said they will never cast their vote for the party again.

“I think they are desperate and I will be taking the petition down to the Home Office in a matter of weeks,” said Mr Falconer.

“Everyone on the site knows how damaging this proposal is.”

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