Plan to House Asylum Seekers at Former Dambusters Home Dropped
The plan to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton, the former home of the Dambusters, has been scrapped by the Home Office. The decision was based on costs, totaling one hundred twenty-two million pounds by 2027, and significant public opposition. A historical site, it played a key role in the famed 1943 Dambusters raid, making the plan highly controversial.
The plan to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton, the historical airbase in Lincolnshire and former home of the Dambusters, has been scrapped by the Home Office due to it not representing value for money.
Originally proposed by a previous Conservative government, the plan aimed to accommodate individuals arriving in the UK by unauthorized means.
The cost of opening the site by autumn and using it until 2027 would total £122 million.
With £60 million already spent, the Home Office has decided to close and sell the site according to crown land disposal protocols.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle highlighted that faster asylum processing, increased returns, and tighter immigration enforcement would diminish the need for such accommodations, saving taxpayer money.
The decision follows the termination of the Rwanda plan and comes after significant public and historical community protest against the use of the historic site.
Forty historians, including notable figures such as Antony Beevor and Dan Snow, labeled the plans as 'cultural desecration.' The 617 Squadron, famously known as the Dambusters, conducted their 1943 raid from this airfield.
Earlier this year, the Home Office had agreed to reduce the number of asylum seekers to be housed at the site from 2,000 to 800, giving 90% of the site to the West Lindsey district council.
Originally proposed by a previous Conservative government, the plan aimed to accommodate individuals arriving in the UK by unauthorized means.
The cost of opening the site by autumn and using it until 2027 would total £122 million.
With £60 million already spent, the Home Office has decided to close and sell the site according to crown land disposal protocols.
Home Office minister Angela Eagle highlighted that faster asylum processing, increased returns, and tighter immigration enforcement would diminish the need for such accommodations, saving taxpayer money.
The decision follows the termination of the Rwanda plan and comes after significant public and historical community protest against the use of the historic site.
Forty historians, including notable figures such as Antony Beevor and Dan Snow, labeled the plans as 'cultural desecration.' The 617 Squadron, famously known as the Dambusters, conducted their 1943 raid from this airfield.
Earlier this year, the Home Office had agreed to reduce the number of asylum seekers to be housed at the site from 2,000 to 800, giving 90% of the site to the West Lindsey district council.