Homes for locals rather than accommodation for migrants should be built on a former RAF base, according to the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire.
David Skaith has agreed with local residents and community leaders that the RAF Linton-on-Ouse site is the wrong place to accommodate hundreds of asylum seekers.
Instead, the mayor said the site should be prioritised for new homes, jobs and economic investment, describing it as one of the region’s “biggest opportunities” to help address local housing pressures.
“I have long argued that the future of this site should be housing-led redevelopment, delivering the homes, jobs and investment that York and North Yorkshire urgently need,” he said.
“With a serious shortage of housing across our county, RAF Linton-on-Ouse is one of our biggest opportunities to help meet local need and support economic growth.”
He added that it was “frustrating” that the site remains undeveloped years after its closure, saying residents were “rightly asking” why such a large opportunity had not yet been brought forward for housing.
The mayor said he would raise the issue with North Yorkshire Council, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence, and argued that the proposed asylum use risked delaying long-term redevelopment of the site.
“I will be making it clear that RAF Linton-on-Ouse should be used to build homes, not house asylum seekers,” he said.
Separately, Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, said public safety and community cohesion must be central to any decision on asylum accommodation.
She said the scale of the proposal, combined with the site’s location and limited infrastructure, raised “serious and legitimate concerns” about the impact on policing, fire services and wider emergency response capacity.
The deputy mayor said she had written to the Asylum Minister and the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police seeking assurances on safety and resourcing implications for local services and council taxpayers.
“I will continue to do everything I can, holding the police and fire services to account, to ensure the safety of local residents and the wider community of York and North Yorkshire,” she said.
The mayor’s comments have been welcomed by North Yorkshire Council member for the Huby and Tollerton division, Councillor Malcolm Taylor.
He said the former airfield had already been submitted to the council by the combined authority as part of its search for housing sites process as it draws up a new local plan.
He added: “The site would face the same challenges (as the asylum centre) around infrastructure, but there’s a desperate need for affordable homes for young families in the area.
“Provided it’s supported with the infrastructure and facilities, that would be a good use of the base.”
The proposed asylum centre is due to be discussed by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority at its cabinet meeting at County Hall, Northallerton, tomorrow (FRIDAY).
The government announced plans to seek planning permission to house up to 3,750 people at Linton, and former RAF bases at Bicester in Oxfordshire and Barnham in Suffolk.
It is understood that the North Yorkshire base could be used to accommodate around 1,200 single men, although further details have not been confirmed.
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