Council launches judicial review over plans to house asylum seekers at disused RAF base

West Lindsey District Council has confirmed it has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Home Office over its decision to accommodate asylum seekers at RAF Scampton.

The Lincolnshire council is set to argue that the site does not have the appropriate planning permission and that the Home Office's decision was irrational.

Plans to use three sites – including RAF Scampton – to house asylum seekers were announced by Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick in the House of Commons last week (29 March).

Responding to the news, West Lindsey said it did not consider the site to be appropriate for asylum seekers and warned that the plans jeopardise a £300m regeneration programme the council has put together for the site.

The council's Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities, Sally Grindrod-Smith, said: "Despite ongoing attempts by the council to set out to the Home Office the irretrievable damage that would be caused to the once in a generation investment opportunity that is on the table, the Home Secretary has taken the decision to utilise RAF Scampton as a site for asylum accommodation."

She added: "The council considers that the decision is irrational and moreover the Home Office does not have the appropriate planning permission for the intended use.

"The council is acutely aware of the concern caused by the proposal and the potential loss of much needed 'levelling up' investment. We will continue to press the Home Office to engage directly with our community to fully understand the concerns being raised."

Alongside the legal action, West Lindsey said it would continue to work with the Home Office and multi-agency partners across Lincolnshire "to highlight what it considers to be a significant number of barriers to mobilising the site for asylum use".

"This includes significant contamination from previous site uses that requires thorough remediation before the site would be suitable for any sensitive use such as housing asylum seekers in temporary structures."

The Home Secretary has until 6 April 2023 to respond to the pre-action protocol letter.

A fact sheet published by the Home Office says the site at RAF Scampton will house up to 2,000 single adult male asylum seekers and will create new jobs and bring investment into the area.

The site is designed to be as "self-sufficient as possible, helping to minimise the impact on local communities and services," the document adds.

It also notes that basic on-site healthcare will be provided to limit the pressures on local NHS services. 

At least two councils have made legal threats since the announcement, including West Lindsey.

The second local authority, Braintree District Council, announced that it has applied to the High Court for an interim injunction in an attempt to block plans to accommodate asylum seekers on a disused airfield in Wethersfield.

Adam Carey