Call for clarity on RAF asylum centre timescale

Government officials have indicated the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse site could be returned to the Ministry of Defence for redevelopment by 2029, the region's deputy mayor has said.

It comes after a letter from Home Office minister Anna Turley to North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les said the site, "if taken forward" would be used to house asylum seekers for "a minimum of three years".

However, the suggested date of 2029, which Labour deputy mayor Jo Coles said was made in a meeting with government officials, has prompted calls for clarification over how long the site would be in use.

The Home Office has previously said no final decision has been made on the future of the site.

In her letter, sent to the Home Office last month, Coles said both she and the county's elected mayor David Skaith, "remain committed" to the Linton site being used for house building.

She wrote: "From the call, my understanding is that the Linton-on Ouse site, if approved, would be scheduled to return to the Ministry of Defence for wider development purposes by July 2029, which would enable housing development to move forward from that time.

"Can you confirm this timescale? We recognised that this timetable would also need to include a period for decommissioning the site and associated infrastructure."

A Home Office spokesperson said the government was working to close every asylum hotel, in a move it says had saved taxpayers more than £1bn on asylum support since the 2024 general election.

"As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area," the spokesperson added.

Campaigners from the Linton-on-Ouse Action Group say the potential July 2029 deadline raises serious questions over the viability and cost of the Home Office proposal.

They argue that planning, preparing the site, gradually increasing occupancy and then dismantling the infrastructure could leave a much shorter period during which the centre was fully operational.

Prof Olga Matthias, a spokesperson for the group, said: "The site usage was initially for three years but, as time goes by, more infrastructure and resourcing issues are being raised, making the window of opportunity much shorter and the cost per night much higher."

The group claims that under its revised calculations the cost could reach at least £853 per asylum seeker per night if the centre's operational lifespan was reduced to around 20 to 22 months.

That figure is a campaign group estimate rather than a Home Office projection.

The Home Office previously said it did not recognise an earlier Action Group calculation, which put the cost at more than £400 per person per night.

"We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community," the Home Office spokesperson said.

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