The first group of migrants set to arrive at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, won’t now be moved in until early October, according to the BBC.
Scampton Parish Council are reported to have met the Home Office yesterday and made the claim that there would be a delay.
The delays are forced due to surveys on 14 buildings still not having been completed. Similarly there are reports that officials are finding it difficult to find qualified professionals to oversee gas, water and electricity at the site.
The RAF base was made famous due to being the home of the legendary Dambusters from World War Two, with some historians saying that the site’s rich history makes it inappropriate for conversion into an asylum centre. It’s also the home of the iconic Red Arrows.
The base has been the subject of legal wranglings, with West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) asking for an injuction to be put in place preventing the use of the site for an asylum centre. However the application was refused.
The local council feared the remodelling of the site as an asylum centre would affect plans for its £300m regeneration of the base.
The local authority had asked a judge in London to impose an interim injunction which would prevent the Home Office moving “materials, equipment or people” on to the land at the former base. However in May that bid failed.
The base has been the site of protest and counter-protest, with nationalist groups being confronted by anti-fascist movements outside the gates.
Hamish Falconer, Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lincoln, who was at the High Court hearing, said: “The government does need to answer for Lincoln and the public who really care about this.We are going to keep fighting it.”
The asylum seeker housing plans at RAF Scampton have hugely impacted WLDC’s £300 million “landmark deal” to preserve, protect and enhance the site, including the creation of thousands of jobs.
Historian James Holland said in March of the asylum centre plan at Scampton: “What a mess this is. It is absolutely insane. There are so many unused airfields, so why do they have to choose the most historic in the country?”
Referencing the alternative regeneration plan, he added: “It will bring jobs, money, retain the heritage and create a high-tech aerospace hub – but the Government has kicked that into touch.
“They say the asylum plan will be temporary. How temporary is temporary? It could be there for years and by then investment will go elsewhere.”
