Government scraps plan to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton

The government has scrapped plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton.

The former airbase, in Lincolnshire, was due to start accommodating migrants from later this year as part of proposals by the previous Conservative government to reduce the reliance on hotels.

But the Home Office said the plan would have cost £122million by the end of its use in 2027, which it said was not value for money.

A total of £60million has already been spent on the site.

The government said work to close the site would start immediately, with the process of selling the land beginning shortly.

Border security and asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said: "Faster asylum processing, increased returns and tighter enforcement of immigration rules will reduce demand for accommodation like Scampton and save millions for the taxpayer as we drive forward work to clear the asylum backlog and strengthen our border security.

"We have also listened to community feedback and concerns about using this site for asylum accommodation."

Scampton was home to the famous Dambusters squadron during the Second World War and later the Red Arrows aerobatics team.

In 2018, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the base would shut as part of cost-cutting measures. It eventually shut

In March 2023 West Lindsey District Council unveiled what it called "a landmark deal" to buy the 800-acre site from the MoD and transfer ownership to its new development partner Scampton Holdings Limited.

The £300m deal aimed to regenerate the site by providing aviation heritage, business, aerospace, space and aviation technology, and education opportunities.

Those plans appeared to be scuppered when, within days, reports emerged that the Home Office was considering using the site to house hundreds of asylum seekers.

It said alternatives were needed to keeping migrants in hotels, which cost it said was costing taxpayers £60million a day.

But the news was met with widespread anger in the area.

The immigration minister later confirmed that Scampton would house up to 2,000 asylum seekers at any one time, mostly originating from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

The first were understood to be arriving this October.

Protracted legal action followed as the council tried to block the plan, but its attempts failed.

The scrapping of the Scampton plan comes after the government ditched the Rwanda policy championed by the Tories in government aimed at deterring migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

Peter Hewitt, chairman of Scampton Holdings, said: "We are incredibly excited, and relieved, not just for ourselves but for the people of Scampton and the surrounding areas who've been living in a terrible period of anxiety and uncertainty, which I know has affected their lives over the last 18 months.

"We're also very excited that we're hopefully on the path now to delivering that very exciting development project."

Writing on X, Labour's Lincoln MP Hamish Falconer welcomed the end of what he called the Conservatives' "disastrous scheme".

"Excellent news for Lincoln and Lincolnshire today," he said.

Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative MP for Gainsborough, added: "The two-year battle is over. We have won."We want the full regeneration package to go ahead, and the site not just sold for housing."

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