The leader of North Yorkshire Council has expressed concern that the Government has effectively already decided to use the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse base to house migrants, despite ministers insisting no final decision has been made.
Councillor Carl Les wrote to Border Security and Asylum Minister Anna Turley outlining his authority’s objections to plans for the base after a unanimous vote among councillors.
In her response, the minister provided some reassurance by confirming that detailed feasibility work would be undertaken before the plans progressed.
However, Cllr Les told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he fears the assessments are being carried out to establish how the proposal can be delivered, rather than whether Linton-on-Ouse is an appropriate location.
The Government is considering using the former military base to provide accommodation for potentially around 1,200 single men.
In her letter to Cllr Les, Ms Turley said assessments could take several months and insisted the exploratory work did not predetermine the site’s future.
She added that any proposals would require the necessary planning permissions and approvals.
Cllr Les said: “At one level it’s encouraging that the minister has replied setting out that the Government has not made a decision yet, and saying that they’re going to do detailed feasibility assessments etc — in that respect it’s encouraging.
“But the worry is that the feasibility assessments are all being done to actually prove that this is a policy that could be introduced.
“And even though it’s going to take several months to arrive at a decision point, the actual decision in principle has been made that this is the right location that the Government wants to use and that they will invest the considerable sums of money that will be required to bring the facilities up to standard for migrants to be housed there.”
Cllr Les also highlighted a significant change in the possible length of time the site could be used.
The minister’s letter states that, if the proposal goes ahead, Linton-on-Ouse would be used for a minimum of three years as part of the Government’s efforts to move asylum seekers out of hotels.
Cllr Les said: “At some point in the past when these discussions were being held, it was suggested it would be a maximum of three years.
“Now it’s changed to a minimum of three years.
“It’s understandable that they would want to get their return on their investment, so it could be for a considerable period of time, so that is worrying.”
Ms Turley said the Home Office would appoint a specialist asylum accommodation provider to run the site, with 24-hour security and CCTV. The Government says the facility would be designed to be largely self-sufficient to minimise the impact on the surrounding community.
The minister stressed that no final decision would be taken until assessments, approvals and operational arrangements had been completed and reviewed, adding that concerns raised locally would be considered.
Cllr Les welcomed confirmation that the Government still sees housing as the eventual long-term use for the former RAF base.
The minister said temporary asylum accommodation would not be allowed to hinder plans for the site’s eventual development for new housing.
Cllr Les added: “I’m pleased that they identify that there is a use for Linton in future for housing because that’s what we would like to see happen, and they don’t intend for it to hinder the progression of that final use.
“But that final use could be years away.”
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