The government is again considering Ministry of Defence land, including the former RAF Scampton airbase in Lincolnshire, as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers as ministers push to close asylum hotels, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said this week.
Pollard told reporters that military planners have been deployed into Border Security Command and the Home Office to review military and non-military sites that could be used to stand up "temporary but adequate accommodation" to enable a faster closure of asylum hotels. "The Prime Minister wants all asylum hotels closed, as do I, as does the British public," he said.
The proposal has reignited a long-running dispute over Scampton, a base best known as the launch point for the 1943 Dambusters raid. The site was part of a previous Conservative plan that allocated about £50 million to convert the base into accommodation for migrants, originally aimed at housing some 2,000 people before the capacity was later reduced to about 800. Labour ministers shelved that plan in 2024, saying it did not offer value for money; media reporting said the earlier effort cost the Home Office at least £48 million.
Residents and local officials said they would oppose any renewed bid to use the site. Steve Plews, landlord of Scampton's only pub, the Dambuster's Arms, said villagers had kept campaign flags from a prior fight over the base and vowed to resist. "They spent £62 million up there last year. They said it had to be 'liveable' for the asylum seekers. But it was alright for our lads to live there when it was an RAF base," he said.
Former RAF personnel and long-term residents described the intactness and suitability of many buildings as poor. Andy Pickett, who served 37 years in the air force, said only a small portion of the estate remained in operational use until its closure and argued that many structures would require costly repairs. "Internally, the ceilings have collapsed and asbestos has been exposed. To bring those buildings back into use would cost an absolute fortune," he said.
West Lindsey District Council and local planning officials also warned of practical and heritage constraints at Scampton. Sally Grindrod-Smith, the council's director of planning, regeneration and communities, said the authority considered the site "wholly unsuitable as a site for asylum accommodation," citing protection of nationally important heritage, the limitations of rural infrastructure, unresolved contamination issues and the scale of disruption that would be caused to nearby communities. The council said it was working with development partner Scampton Holdings Limited on a proposed £300 million regeneration plan for the site.
Supporters of the MoD review say using disused military sites could be a way to reduce the government's reliance on costly hotel placements. A Home Office spokesperson said the department had committed to closing all asylum hotels and would consider "a range of cheaper, more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities."
The decision to revisit military sites follows legal and political challenges around the national accommodation strategy. Earlier this month the Court of Appeal set aside an injunction that had sought to prevent the Home Office from housing 138 asylum seekers at a hotel in Epping, Essex, and the use of hotels has prompted local protests in several towns. Opponents in Scampton said they expected a renewed campaign of demonstrations if ministers pressed ahead.
Local residents described impacts they say they experienced during the previous attempt to convert the base. Some homeowners and local businesses said interest in property fell after the initial announcement, and villagers expressed concerns about sewage, water and drainage capacity, potential contamination and the effect on the village's character. Edy Hammonds, who has lived in Scampton for 38 years, said he felt compelled to resist another change of course. "I suppose I am an immigrant myself. But I have lived here longer than my own country. As soon as I heard the news I thought 'It can't be true.' We will fight even harder this time," he said.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson did not rule out revisiting the plans and said the department would issue an update once a final decision had been taken. Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh previously argued that Scampton should not be considered for asylum accommodation.
The government faces competing pressures: ministers say closing expensive hotel provision is necessary to control costs and centralise arrangements, while councils and local communities point to heritage protections, infrastructure limits and local disruption. Any move to convert Scampton or similar sites would require detailed assessments of structural condition, contamination and local services, and would be subject to political and legal scrutiny as the national asylum accommodation policy evolves.