Court rules government can use ex-RAF bases to house asylum seekers

The Government has won a High Court battle over its controversial plans to use two ex-RAF bases to house thousands of asylum seekers.

Judicial reviews had been launched by two councils challenging Home Office schemes to use RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, once home to the Dambusters, and RAF Wethersfield in Essex.

West Lindsey District Council argued that a decision to use land at the disused Scampton airfield, where the Red Arrows were based, for up to 2,000 males was unlawful.

Braintree District Council and a private resident had made a similar complaint over plans for land that once formed part of RAF Wethersfield for as many as 1,700 asylum seekers.

A High Court judge ruled against both councils on Wednesday.

“The Secretary of State for the Home Department has statutory responsibility to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers and their dependants who would otherwise be destitute,” explained Mrs Justice Thornton, in a written ruling.

“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of asylum seekers requiring accommodation has reached unprecedented levels.”

Braintree District Council has requested permission from the High Court to appeal the decision.

“We are of course disappointed with this outcome after months of work to present our case and evidence as we still believe it isn’t an appropriate site for a development of this scale given its remote location and the lack of capacity in local services,” said Graham Butland, Leader of Braintree District Council.

“We will continue with our duty of care to support asylum seekers on site and helping to minimise impact on our local communities whilst the site is being utilised for this purpose.”

Campaigners in Scampton have argued the Government’s plan would scupper a £300m regeneration prgogramme for the site.

In September, West Lindsay District Council served a 28-day stop notice ordering the Home Office to stop work on site, claiming it breached planning laws relating to the listed buildings and archaeology on the former RAF site.

Sir Edward Leigh, Tory MP for Gainsborough, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “I am disappointed at the result of the Scampton court case, but I understand@WestLindseyDC intends to appeal and has solid grounds for doing so.

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“They have my full support and the stop notices remain in place.”

Hamish Falconer, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Lincoln, said a Labour government “would be committed to closing this down ASAP and preserving the private investment”.

He added: “The government may have won this case, but all they’ve now got is the right to use the site until the spring.”

As of last month, around 430 asylum seekers were at Wethersfield, where protests have broken out over conditions at the ex-military base.

Several migrants claimed to have developed rashes and viral infections, with one person living at the base claiming up to 30 people are affected.

Photos taken of some of the men involved – provided by a local resident who witnessed a protest – showed skin rashes and lesions. The resident raised concerns that cases of scabies were present at the site.

There are currently no asylum seekers onsite at RAF Scampton, with the Home Office planning to phase in the numbers of those arriving, starting with about 30 people.