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Search the Public Notice PortalAn MP has hit out at Home Office plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Linton-on-Ouse near York.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke said the government would be “riding roughshod” over the local democratic process if it did not commit to sending its plans over to North Yorkshire Council for approval.
It comes after the MP for Wetherby and Easingwold met with Home Office officials to discuss the controversial plans to house up to 1,200 asylum seekers at the former RAF site.
He said: “I have been clear with the Home Secretary and her officials that Linton-on-Ouse is the wrong plan in the wrong place.
“It won’t work and it will cost taxpayers’ a fortune.”
Sir Alec Shelbrooke said he would be penning a technical, detailed objection to the proposal, which he said "won’t stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United Kingdom"
(Image: Supplied)
A government spokesperson said it was working with local authorities and others to “make the system fairer” by moving asylum seekers away from hotels into basic accommodation.
Five military sites, they said, are either in use or being explored, including in Linton-on-Ouse.
Councillor Malcolm Taylor, of Huby and Tollerton ward, said the government is currently conducting a feasibility study on the village for the proposal.
He said he was keen to understand the timeline of this to update distressed villagers but was not given an answer during a meeting with the Home Office which he attended with Linton-on-Ouse parish council chairman Marc Goddard.
'No decision has been made yet'
He added: “The representatives were clear that no decision has been made on the site yet.
“We pushed them on when they expect the feasibility study to be complete, but we weren’t given an answer.
“We do want to have a more open dialogue with the government this time around as this was something that was a problem in 2022, when the previous government first introduced the plans.”
It is understood that the government hopes large former military sites will play an “important role” in reducing the pull factors for asylum seekers entering the UK illegally.
'It won’t stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United Kingdom.'
This is something Sir Alec refutes.
He said: “It won’t stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United Kingdom.”
The MP said he was working with the community of Linton-on-Ouse on penning a technical, detailed objection to the proposal.
He added: “In the immediate term, the Home Office must change approach and commit to submitting a full planning application via the local planning authority in North Yorkshire, rather than riding roughshod over the local democratic process and going straight to the Secretary of State using emergency powers as they intend to do.”
In its response, the government did not confirm whether it intended to use its powers to bypass North Yorkshire Council’s planning authority for permission to use the site.
A government spokesperson said: “The concerns of communities are central to our immigration reforms which is why we are working with local authorities and others to make the system fairer by housing asylum seekers in basic accommodation, including ex-military sites.
“Five military sites are either in use or being explored.
“We have already seen results. The population of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35 per cent in the last year and by 63 per cent from the peak of 56,000 in 2023.
“Overall asylum costs have already fallen by nearly £1 billion since the general election.”