Plans to house asylum seekers in former Dambusters base RAF Scampton axed, Home Office says
5 September 2024, 15:48 | Updated: 5 September 2024, 16:43
Plans to house asylum seekers in RAF Scampton, the former Dambusters base, have been scrapped, the Home Office has said.
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Officials said the decision had been taken because housing hundreds of asylum seekers at the Lincolnshire site "no longer represents value for money."
Plans to open RAF Scampton to migrants this autumn as planned would have cost a total of £122 million by the end of its use in 2027.
The Home Office originally estimated set up costs at the former RAF bases would be £5 million each, but they increased to £49 million for Wethersfield and £27 million for Scampton. Now the cost has been revealed at £60 million.
The Home Office said that it would begin closing the site immediately with the aim of selling it off.
Plans announced last spring to house asylum seekers there had provoked a strong objection from some locals, and the local council launched a legal campaign to block it.
Angela Eagle, the minister for border security and asylum, 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."
The local council wants to launch a £300m regeneration of the site that would include air, space, education and hospitality facilities, as well as a museum and a memorial.
Local MP Edward Leigh welcomed the news that migrants would no longer be placed on the site as a "victory".
He said: "The two-year battle is over. We have won. Migrants will not be housed at Scampton and the site will be released “as soon as is practicable”.
"We want the full regeneration package to go ahead, and the site not just sold for housing."
The Dambusters, the informal name for the RAF's 617 Squadron that attacked German infrastructure during World War Two, carried out a legendary bombing raid on German infrastructure in 1943.
