RAF Scampton: Asylum seeker deal 'better than nothing', developer says

The government wants to house up to 800 asylum seekers at the former RAF site

Developers behind a £300m scheme to transform a former RAF station have cautiously welcomed an agreement over housing asylum seekers on the site.

On Tuesday, West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) announced it had reached the deal with the Home Office.

Under the agreement, 10% of the site would be used to house up to 800 asylum seekers while the remainder would be made available for redevelopment.

Outstanding legal action would also be withdrawn, the council said.

In March last year, WLDC agreed a £300m deal with Scampton Holdings Limited to revive the site as a business, aerospace and heritage centre.

But weeks later, the Home Office announced plans to use the site as an asylum centre.

It then announced it was reducing the number of people to be housed at the site from 2,000 to 800.

'Cautiously cynical'

Commenting on the agreement, Peter Hewitt, chairman of Scampton Holdings, said: "I would like to be excited but I'm not, mainly because... what is proposed is a compromise.

"Ideally, we should have no migrants on that site.

"Having migrants on the site constrains us [from really developing] the site to its full potential, given that there is probably a three-year timescale on this before we get possession of the whole site."

Mr Hewitt said he remained "cautiously cynical", but with a hint of optimism that work could start towards the end of the year.

"It's better than nothing - but it is by no means ideal," he added.

Under the plans, asylum seekers would be housed in former RAF buildings and portable cabins

The plan to convert the former home of the Red Arrows and the wartime Dambusters squadron into an asylum camp had been met with strong opposition from local residents and WLDC, with campaigners staging a number of protests.

Council leader Trevor Young said: "The council has always been clear that whilst it is our view that the site is unsuitable for large-scale asylum accommodation, protecting the investment and regeneration plans for the site is a priority."

On Wednesday, a report by a cross-party parliamentary committee criticised the government's Rwanda scheme and accommodating asylum seekers on large sites, including at Scampton.

The Public Accounts Committee said: "Its assessment of the requirements for setting up alternative accommodation in large sites fell woefully short of reality and risked wasting taxpayers' money."

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