Attempts to convert the former base of the Dambusters have been halted by a second order from the local council after the Home Office attempted to keep working on the site. West Lindsey district council issued an initial stop order at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, earlier this month citing a breach of planning requirements as well as concerns about the heritage of the buildings.
West Lindsey District Council
West Lindsey District Council’s enforcement officers have today served an Enforcement Notice and a Stop Notice to the Home Office, which calls for all work to cease at RAF Scampton. It means that all activity using the site as accommodation for asylum seekers must stop, pursuant to section 172 and 183 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) in respect of RAF Scampton.
As previously reported, the Home Office is working on locating 2,000 asylum seekers on the former RAF site at Scampton, with a view to having the site at full capacity by December 2023. The council, which is the local planning authority, has raised concerns about the work taking place and first issued a Temporary Stop Notice on September 8.
The council considered that there has been a breach of planning control relating specifically to the Listed Buildings and archaeology on the site. This notice was followed up with a site visit on Thursday 14 September. During the site visit, it was clear to officers that there has been a breach of planning control.
The breach of planning control is described as without planning permission if:
- the making of a material change of use of the site to accommodate asylum seekers.
- the carrying out of operational development including the siting of Portakabins to house asylum seekers and significant invasive grounds
The council considers it to be in the public interest to take immediate action and therefore the Stop Notice takes place with immediate effect.
The Enforcement Notice and the Stop Notice requires that the Home Office:
- ceases using the Site as accommodation for asylum seekers.
- removes any asylum seekers residing on the Site
- ceases operational development works to Site Portakabins on the site and ancillary works associated with the siting of the Portakabins such as utility connections, any hard standing, fencing to enclose the Portakabins.
- ceases all intrusive groundworks on the Site
- restores the Site to its original condition
A high court date has now been confirmed for West Lindsey District Council’s judicial review, which will take place on 31 October and 1 November.
Responses
Local opposition to the conversion has been fierce, chiefly because the site had been earmarked for a £300 million redevelopment. The plans would have seen the heritage preserved, kept the airfield operational and created new business space for sectors including space and aviation technology.
Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning Regeneration and Communities at West Lindsey District Council, said:
“At the Site visit last week, officers observed significant works on site that were not considered as part of the Home Office’s Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Request. This means that the impact of the development has not been properly assessed.
“Emergency permitted development rights (pursuant to Schedule 2 Part 19 Class Q of the Town and Country (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2010 RAF Scampton 22 September 2023 (as amended) are only available to the government in a genuine emergency, which has not been proven and when a negative environmental impact assessment screening decision is in place. Additionally, it is clear from the scale of works on Site that this development is not limited to a temporary period of 12 months.”
Cllr Trevor Young, Leader of West Lindsey District Council emphasised the point that it is an offence to fail to comply with a Stop Notice. He said:
“From the moment the decision to use RAF Scampton as an asylum accommodation centre was made, the Council have been clear that this is not an appropriate site for this purpose.
“Use of the Site for asylum accommodation puts at risk the £300million investment proposal. It is incredibly disappointing that despite repeated assurances that the Site would be safe, legal and compliant, the Home Office has failed to secure appropriate planning permission or to adequately assess the impact of their proposals.
“It is an offence to contravene the Stop Notice and I urge the Home Office to cease all works in line with this legal action.”
“This is shocking vandalism,” said Hamish Falconer, a campaigner against the migrant centre plan and Labour’s candidate to be MP for the area at the next election. “They are trying to ruin the heritage and potential of the site with skips, septic tanks and Portakabins before we even get to court for the judicial review at the end of next month”
In a statement, the Home Office said it was “carefully considering the implications of this notice” but that it would “continue to defend our plans to use surplus military sites”.
“Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites provides cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats whilst helping to reduce the use of hotels,” it said. “We are confident our project, which will house asylum seekers in basic, safe and secure accommodation, meets the planning requirements.”