Linton-on-Ouse: Yorkshire village which campaigned against asylum centre could become home to refugees
Empty Ministry of Defence (MOD) properties in Linton-on-Ouse have been identified as potential housing for Afghan refugees being resettled in the UK as part of a nationwide scheme to utilise unused services accommodation.
Last year the village near York was at the centre of battle with the government after it announced proposals to house up to 1,500 male migrants at the disused RAF Linton-on-Ouse base while their asylum claims were processed.
Campaigners ultimately forced the MOD to withdraw its offer to the Home Office to use the site amid fierce criticism of its suitability.
The new plans are much smaller in scale and involve 16 MOD houses in the village rather than a large centre at the RAF base.
Malcolm Taylor, North Yorkshire Councillor for the area, acknowledged the duty owed to Afghans who had risked their lives working alongside UK forces and said the local response was markedly different.
He said: “I wouldn’t say there are no concerns in the village but it will be limited as on the whole it is understood by the local community that this is a completely different set of circumstances from the previous migration centre proposal that caused so much angst and upset.
“Communication is vital in keeping the village updated with the facts to avoid rumours circulating and the Parish Council and myself are at pains to ensure this is the case. Understandably there is still some nervousness and anxiety as a result of the way the Home Office treated the village over the previous proposal for the airfield.”
The MOD has identified around 700 unused Service Family Accommodation properties to provide long-term, settled accommodation for eligible families under the government’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) with a further 200 ringfenced to provide transitional accommodation to speed up flow into the UK.
It is understood 75 properties in North Yorkshire have been selected for potential use with discussions currently ongoing between North Yorkshire Council, the MOD and other government departments.
Refurbishment work has already taken place on the properties in Linton-on-Ouse though it is understood a final decision has not been made on their usage.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are honouring our commitment to those brave Afghans that supported the UK mission in Afghanistan. So far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety from Afghanistan.
“To ensure ARAP-eligible families can begin a settled life in the UK as quickly as possible, the UK Government is identifying transitional and settled accommodation from across the Defence Estate, including at Linton-on-Ouse.”
ARAP is one of two relocation schemes run by the government. Afghans resettled under the ARAP scheme are not asylum seekers as the programme provides for immediate settlement in the UK.
Between October and the end of December, the government plans to have relocated 2,800 Afghans and their families eligible under ARAP to the UK. So far, over 14,300 people have been relocated under the scheme.
The Linton-on-Ouse comes days after the Prime Minister said he hopes to use Catterick Garrison in his constituency to house Afghan refugees after it was reported he had scrapped plans to accommodate asylum seekers on the site.
Mr Sunak confirmed the Home Office had assessed the site in Richmond as unsuitable for a large asylum facility.
“They’ve concluded that Catterick isn’t right for a large asylum site, but the intention is to use it to house refugees from Afghanistan where we obviously have commitments after our withdrawal from that a couple of years ago,” he said.