A deal allowing a local council to begin regeneration work at a historic airbase has been struck with the Home Office.
The Government department plans to “press ahead” with housing up to 800 asylum seekers at the former base RAF Scampton with the first arriving in “summer 2024”.
A letter addressed to Conservative MP for Gainsborough, Sir Edward Leigh, from the Minister for Legal Migration said the Home Office can progress with plans while West Lindsey District Council can “start perusing” regeneration.
The Minister, Tom Pursglove MP, said: “Through these proposals, between the Home Office and WLDC, all legal proceedings will be dropped and the department can press ahead with moving the first asylum seekers on site in summer 2024.”
The Home Office plans to “press ahead” with housing up to 800 asylum seekers at the former base
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“This means a dual use of site with about 10 per cent of the land used for Home Office accommodation and the rest for WLDC and the community.”
Originally 2,000 asylum seekers were expected at the airbase which is famously home to 617 Squadron that flew the Dambuster raids during the Second World War.
The announcement in March 2023 shocked the local community and politicians who had recently announced a £300m regeneration deal with Scampton Holdings Ltd to invest at the airbase.
In October 2023, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer, told the BBC, he would “quickly close” the migrant accommodation at Scampton, raising questions as to the future of the site if the party is elected in the upcoming General Election.
The letter was shared to X (formerly Twitter) by Scampton’s MP, Sir Edward Leigh, who said: “Under this agreement, regeneration will be protected.”
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The first migrants housed are scheduled to arrive this summer
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“Obviously I would prefer they never mooted the housing of migrants at the site, but a lot of hard work has gone into this deal and it meets our main hope for regeneration.”
The Home Office has planning permission for temporary use of the site through a Special Development Order until October 2027.
The Home Office, Sir Edward Leigh, and WLDC have been meeting in recent weeks where discussions “progressed well” after more than a year of battling in the courts.
WLDC took the Home Office to the High Court but lost a judicial review which judged Government plans to be lawful.
The Minister’s letter states the parties have “reached agreement in principle” providing “greater clarity” on use of the site.
Scampton's Cllr Roger Patterson said: “It’s great news, it's the best we could hope for at the moment but we'll fight on"
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The deal includes that by October 2025, the Home Office will “begin to reduce the accommodation footprint” at the site by removing modular housing in part.
WLDC will then be granted opportunity to purchase the site “once all asylum seekers have left in 2027” with the Home Office providing support alongside Historic England to create a Heritage Asset Plan for the base.
Scampton's Cllr Roger Patterson, Conservative at WLDC, said: “It’s great news, it's the best we could hope for at the moment but we'll fight on.
“This deal is one of the biggest ever for Lincolnshire, a county chronically underfunded and it's a huge boost for jobs, growth, tourism and businesses.”
GB News has approached West Lindsey District Council and Home Office for comment.