Council leader calls for 'proper' consultation for ex-RAF base after Home Office officially confirms it won't be used for asylum seekers

In August Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced he had withdrawn the offer of the site in Linton-on-Ouse to the Home Office to house up to 1,500 asylumseekers between the ages of 18 and 40, following a four-month battle by campaigners.

Official confirmation of the Home Office’s decision not to progress the proposals was only received by Hambleton District Council at the end of last week.

The move allows them to stand down lawyers who would have looked to mount a legal challenge had the decision gone the other way.

Council leader Mark Robson welcomed the “common sense” decision and there should now be consultation on the future of the 240-hectare site, which could be used for anything from housing or a solar farm.

He said he’d prefer to see it continue as an RAF base.

A working group, including Hambleton’s planners, is expected to meet in November to discuss options, with residents, councillors and the MP involved at a later stage in discussions.

However he said cynics were already concerned a local decision could be taken out of their hands as a result of changes proposed in the Government’s Levelling up Bill, which is yet to have its second reading.

He said: "There’s a couple of conditions there that would basically mean Crown or Government land would be exempt from planning.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) began closing the base in 2020, following the transfer of pilot training to RAF Valley on Anglesey, with just a handful of military personnel now remaining on site.

Councillor Robson said his understanding was that the site has to be either used or disposed of by 2024.

He said: “It would be nice to see it back as an RAF base – at the end of the day all the facilities are there. It has a modern control tower, the old one was only replaced around six years ago.

"When it was an active base it brought growth to the local economy. What happens in future needs proper consultation – the problem was there was no consultation whatever.

"The argument might be if there’s a massive housing estate how would the roads and infrastructure cope with it?

"I used the phrase back in April: ‘You have to be careful what you wish for’.”

The idea of using the facility for asylum seekers was put forward by former Home Secretary Priti Patel, and supported by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a key element of their immigration plan, which included the idea of sending some asylum seekers to live in Rwanda rather than allowing them to stay in the UK.

Numbers of migrants cross the Channel are continuing to rise despite the supposed deterrent.

Provisional MOD figures last month said so far 28,561 peo ple had reached the UK in small boats. Last year’s total was 28,526, according to official figures.