A campaign group opposing plans to accommodate asylum seekers at the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse base says the projected cost could exceed £800 per person per night when the expense of returning the site to its former condition is taken into account.
Linton Action Group has provided further information to The Harrogate Informer about its financial estimates and concerns over the use of former military sites for asylum accommodation.
The group says the proposed centre would be available for only three years, with the Home Office required to return the site in July 2029 fully decommissioned and deconstructed.
It has also confirmed that the site remains under assessment and that no planning application has yet been submitted.
Campaign group revises its cost estimate
The group’s published costing report, dated July 2026, estimates that establishing and operating the proposed centre would cost at least £403.4 million over three years.
Using its own occupancy assumptions, the report calculates a cost of £423.29 per person per night under a theoretical maximum occupancy scenario, rising to £527.81 per person per night under what it describes as a more realistic operational scenario.
In a subsequent response to The Harrogate Informer, the group said an addendum to its costing report put the revised figure at more than £800 per night, taking account of the requirement to dismantle and decommission the site before its return in July 2029.
The higher figure is the campaign group’s revised calculation. The version of its report currently published online gives the lower estimates, so the assumptions and additional costs behind the revised figure will need to be examined separately.
The group argues that the proposal represents poor value for public money, particularly when compared with established asylum accommodation arrangements.
However, the Home Office’s own projected costs for the proposed Linton-on-Ouse centre have not been made publicly available in the group’s report. Its estimates are based on comparisons with other large accommodation projects and assumptions about occupancy and operating costs, rather than a published Home Office cost assessment for this particular site.
The group’s costing briefing sets out its calculations and the assumptions behind them.
Concerns over justice and safeguarding at military sites
The group has also directed The Harrogate Informer to evidence concerning the use of former military sites to accommodate people seeking asylum, including reports from the Helen Bamber Foundation and a joint letter from refugee support, legal and human rights organisations.
In a briefing published in June 2025, the Helen Bamber Foundation examined conditions at RAF Wethersfield, where men seeking asylum have been accommodated since July 2023.
The foundation raised concerns about access to legal advice, healthcare, privacy and appropriate safeguarding, particularly for people who have survived torture or trafficking or have significant mental health needs.
Data obtained by the foundation showed that 393 safeguarding referrals were made during the first three months of 2025. These included 35 relating to suicide or self-harm, 90 concerning violent or disruptive behaviour, 141 involving missing individuals, 31 relating to physical health and 51 concerning victims of torture and trafficking.
These figures relate to Wethersfield and should not be interpreted as predictions of what would happen at Linton-on-Ouse. They nevertheless provide evidence of the safeguarding issues reported at an existing large-scale asylum accommodation site.
The foundation also highlighted difficulties faced by residents in obtaining legal representation and attending asylum interviews with appropriate legal support.
More than 40 organisations raise concerns
The action group also supplied a joint letter coordinated by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants under the banner Communities Not Camps.
More than 40 organisations signed the letter, which raised concerns about the use of former military sites at Wethersfield and Crowborough and the proposed development of further accommodation centres.
The organisations highlighted concerns about access to medical treatment and legal advice, the identification and support of survivors of torture and trafficking, and the impact of isolated accommodation on vulnerable people.
The letter also argued that accommodation at former military sites can cost more than housing people in established accommodation within local communities.
These are the organisations’ stated concerns and positions on asylum accommodation policy. Their evidence relates to existing sites and the wider system, rather than an assessment of the specific arrangements that might be implemented at Linton-on-Ouse.
Site remains under assessment
In its response to The Harrogate Informer, Linton Action Group confirmed that the proposed site is still being assessed and that no planning application has been submitted at this stage.
The group has offered to provide further information and arrange a conversation with one of its representatives.
The proposal’s planning status, the final arrangements for the site and the costs associated with any development remain important questions as the assessment progresses.