North Yorkshire retains legal counsel over airfield asylum accommodation plans

Home Office minister Alex Norris said the Government was considering using three ex-military sites - including RAF Linton-on-Ouse - in an address to Parliament last week.

He said the three new sites could host around 3,750 asylum seekers, subject to feasibility assessments, planning permission and the necessary approvals.

North Yorkshire Council’s leader, Carl Les, has since hit out at the plans, claiming the use of the site would be "completely inappropriate".

He also expressed disappointment that the media were informed of the move in an embargoed press release ahead of the council.  

In a statement published on Wednesday (1 July), he said: "This information was released to press the evening before we were informed under an embargo which did not prevent details being published. This was very unhelpful, is not good practice and did not support a coordinated understanding or response to very sensitive information."

He said the local community opposed the proposal and that the village was a small, rural conurbation that lacked the infrastructure and services required for such a site.

"There are no appropriate facilities in the immediate vicinity to support a cohort of this size in terms of healthcare, transport connectivity, community integration opportunities or access to essential day-to-day services," he said.

Cllr Les has called for an urgent meeting with the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, the Deputy Mayor responsible for policing, and the Leader of the City of York Council to discuss residents' concerns  and to agree a joint position.

"As a council, we have retained legal counsel to advise on options as we progress," he added.

The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, has said the former RAF base is “simply the wrong place for plans to accommodate large numbers of asylum seekers”, adding: “I will be making it clear to North Yorkshire Council, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence that RAF Linton-on-Ouse should be used to build homes, not house asylum seekers.

“This proposal risks putting the site's future development on hold and further delays the homes, jobs and economic investment that local people have been waiting years to see.”

Adam Carey