Fear over plans to house 1,500 refugees at RAF Scampton

THE Home Office has outlined plans for the former RAF Scampton to become a detention centre for thousands of refugees dashing plans for it become a world-class aviation mecca creating thousands of jobs.

On March 6 West Lindsey Council announced a ground-breaking deal with Scampton Holdings Limited to secure a sustainable future for the site, which would see investment of £300 million across four key business areas: l Commercial activity, aerospace and aviation; l Heritage; l Hospitality and tourism; l Education and research.

Only days later it was revealed the Home Office was considering RAF Scampton as one of a number of sites that could be used for asylum accommodation.

The Home Office maintains that no decision to use the former airbase for asylum accommodation has been made. West Lindsey is considering all options and seeking legal advice, to do whatever is necessary to protect the redevelopment and regeneration of the site. Its latest move has been to apply to get the Officers’ Mess at Scampton protected by Historic England Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities at West Lindsey, Sally Grindrod-Smith said the council held a site meeting,

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which raised further concerns.

“The council is very concerned about the future of the former Officers’ Mess. The building appears to be deteriorating rapidly and without due care and attention this important historic feature of the site could be lost forever. That is why the Council has taken decisive action and made an application to Historic England to seek listed building status.”

RAF Scampton was the home of the famous 617 Squadron, the Dambusters and was where the famous squadron launched operation chastise, the operation to blow up the German dams with the famous bouncing bomb. It was also more recently home to the RAF’s Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows which has moved to RAF Waddington.

Around 47,000 people have signed a petition and 40 significant historians thrown their weight behind plans to preserve and protect the site. These include Sir Antony Beevor, Sir Max Hastings, Dan Snow, Tracy Borman, Jonathan Dimbleby and comedian Al Murray The open letter to Suella Braverman calls on the Home Secretary to end her plans and allow the council to ‘honour the incredibly rich history of Scampton’.

See www.change.org/p/stop-raf-scampton-being-turned-intoa-detention-camp?source_location=search