Plans to
house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton axed
5 September
2024
Nathan
Hemmingham & Sarah-May Buccieri
BBC News
Reporting
from Scampton
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y3v6qg1dko
Plans to
house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been scrapped because
they do not represent value for money, the Home Office has said.
Opening the
site from the autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122m by the end of
its use in 2027, it added.
The site,
which was home to the Dambusters and Red Arrows, had been earmarked by the
previous government to accommodate migrants.
Sarah
Carter, of the Save Our Scampton campaign group, told the BBC it was “amazing
news” and that she wanted "everyone to feel how I feel right now”.
Sir Edward
Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, said he was "absolutely
delighted", adding it was the end of a "two-year battle".
He said:
"I view this as a vindication and now we must move on."
Sir Edward
added Scampton was "absolutely unique" and renewed his backing for
regeneration of the historic site.
'Disastrous
scheme'
A total of
£60m had already been spent on the site due to commitments from the previous
government and work to close it "will begin immediately", according
to a written Commons statement by Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle.
Dame Angela
said the cost of the scheme "clearly fails to deliver value for money for
the taxpayer".
"She
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."
Labour MP
for Lincoln Hamish Falconer added: "I've done as I promised.
"From
the day the Conservative government announced their intention for Scampton,
I've fought this disastrous scheme.
"The
costs revealed today are disgraceful. The news delivered is excellent news for
Lincoln and Lincolnshire."
The
Dambusters is the most famous wartime RAF squadron following its Operation
Chastise mission in World War Two to destroy German dams using the bouncing
bomb.
Historian
James Holland said the migrant housing plan "should never have happened in
the first place".
"There's
an amazing private investment plan to create jobs and business appropriate to
that site that would give Scampton lasting meaning and continue its story as an
amazing centre of aviation well into the future," he added.
In 2022, the
Red Arrows moved to RAF Waddington, ending an association with the site that
had spanned more than 20 years.
The Ministry
of Defence announced it would close the site to save money, but in March 2023
West Lindsey District Council had agreed a £300m plan to revive it and turn it
into a business, aerospace and heritage centre.
However,
weeks later the Home Office announced the intention to use the site as an
asylum centre.
Residents
have been campaigning for 18 months to have the plans scrapped.
Addressing
those who supported the campaign, Ms Carter added: “Thank you for all the hard
work you have put in, the people that were manning the gate, manning the
[protest] camp, petitioning and supporting us.”
Theresa
Williams, who lives near the site, said she was “ecstatic” but disappointed
that so much taxpayers’ money had been “wasted” during the process.
She said she
was now looking forward to a brighter future for Scampton.
“We can now
move forward with the £300m investment. That would be amazing for us.”
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