RAF Scampton: Home Office ordered to stop work on asylum centre

The council issued a temporary stop notice to workers at Scampton earlier this month

The Home Office has been ordered to stop work to convert a former RAF base into an asylum centre over concerns planning conditions have been breached.

The government plans to house up to 2,000 people at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, with the first 50 due to arrive at the site within weeks.

After a site visit, West Lindsey District Council has now served an enforcement notice and a stop notice.

The Home Office said it was confident its project met planning requirements.

However the council said it was "clear" that there had been "a breach of planning control".

It said the breach related to its listed buildings and archaeology at the site, which was once the home of 617 Squadron responsible for the Dambusters raids in 1943.

The council, which is the local planning authority, had raised concerns about the work taking place and first issued a temporary stop notice on 8 September.

Under the terms of the notice, the Home Office must stop using the site as accommodation for asylum seekers, cease works related to portable buildings, stop all intrusive groundworks and restore the site to its original condition.

The former RAF station is being converted to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers

In a statement, the council said the breach of planning control involved changing the use of the site to accommodate asylum seekers and the siting of temporary accommodation to house asylum seekers.

Sally Grindrod-Smith, director of planning, regeneration and communities at West Lindsey District Council, said: "At the site visit last week, officers observed significant works on site that were not considered as part of the Home Office's Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Request.

"This means the impact of the development has not been properly assessed."

Ms Grindrod-Smith added that under the terms of the Town and Country Planning Order, "emergency permitted development rights...are only available to the government in a genuine emergency, which has not been proven, and when a negative environmental impact assessment screening decision is in place".

"Additionally, it is clear from the scale of works on site that this development is not limited to a temporary period of 12 months," she said.

West Lindsey Council leader Trevor Young said: "It is incredibly disappointing that despite repeated assurances that the site would be safe, legal and compliant, the Home Office has failed to secure appropriate planning permission or to adequately assess the impact of their proposals.

"It is an offence to contravene the Stop Notice and I urge the Home Office to cease all works in line with this legal action."

Sir Edward Leigh, the MP whose constituency covers the site, described the Home Office plans as "unrealistic"

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: "Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites provides cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats whilst helping to reduce the use of hotels.

"We are confident our project, which will house asylum seekers in basic, safe and secure accommodation, meets the planning requirements."

The council said it had expected the site to be fully operational as a home for migrants by December this year.

The authority lost an injunction bid in May to halt the move, but in July was given the go-ahead to bring a High Court challenge.

A High Court date has now been confirmed for the judicial review, which will take place on 31 October and 1 November.

MP for Gainsborough Sir Edward Leigh added his support for the local authority's latest intervention in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He wrote: "I welcome West Lindsey's further Stop Notice at Scampton.

"We warned the Home Office their plans were unrealistic and failed to take into account the intricacies of Scampton."

Sir Edward said he would be writing to Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick to ensure the Home Office would "obey the law".

He had previously criticised the plans, saying the government is "wasting public money".