Special Development Order puts end to council enforcement action against asylum seeker airbase

West Lindsey District Council has withdrawn its enforcement notice at RAF Scampton in light of a Special Development Order (SDO) that has put an end to planning enforcement action relating to the site.

An SDO is a form of secondary legislation that allows Principal Secretaries of State to grant planning permission.

The provision is set out in Section 59 of the Town and County Act 1990.

The SDO for RAF Scampton was laid in Parliament on 21 March and will come into force on Thursday (11 April).

It grants temporary planning permission for development at the former RAF base relating to the provision of accommodation and other forms of support to single adult male asylum-seekers and failed asylum-seekers.

The Home Office is currently relying on Class Q emergency planning powers for its operations on the site.

Up until now, West Lindsey has been countering the Government's efforts to house asylum seekers on the site through enforcement notices, judicial review and by seeking an injunction.

Now that an SDO is in place, the council said it has no planning grounds against which enforcement action can be pursued.

However, it is still pursuing a judicial review against the Home Office's decision to use the SDO itself to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton.

Its judicial review challenge is being brought alongside Braintree District Council, which opposes plans to accommodate asylum seekers on Wethersfield Airfield.

West Lindsey's earlier efforts to secure an injunction and block the use of the site failed after the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of the High Court's decision not to grant an injunction against using the site.

Commenting on the implementation of the SDO, Cllr Trevor Young, Leader of West Lindsey District Council, said: "The Home Office has laid the SDO in Parliament, the council has been clear from the outset that the use of an SDO excludes the voice of our communities from being heard.

"We know this is incredibly important for our communities and we are committed to continuing to do all we can to represent their views and to protect the £300m investment plan, which we still believe is the right way forward."

The Home Office has decided to reduce the number of people to be on site from 2,000 to 800 with a caveat to increase the number of people by 300, if there is a higher-than-expected demand for spaces.

An SDO for the Wethersfield Airfield will also come into force on 11 April.

Cllr Graham Butland, Leader of Braintree District Council, said: "As we've said since day one, the Home Office have bypassed us as the local planning authority and applied directly to the Secretary of State as a way of getting around planning permission for asylum accommodation which we don't think is appropriate, and therefore the opportunity for the communities' voices to be heard was lost. 

"Braintree District Council did not have sight of the SDO prior to it being laid and will be reviewing its content and considering any implications arising from it."

Similar to its decision to reduce the number of occupants at RAF Scampton, the Home Office also confirmed it will cap the regular occupancy at Wethersfield to a maximum of 800 service users from the original 1,700 to reduce impact on the local community.

Adam Carey