The UK government has announced plans to seek planning permission to use the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse base near York to house roughly 1,200 single male asylum seekers.
The plan is part of a broader Home Office initiative to exit costly asylum hotels by setting up larger accommodation hubs on former Ministry of Defence (MoD) land. This marks a revival of a highly controversial proposal that was completely abandoned in 2022 following intense local protests and legal threats.
Statement from David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire:
RAF Linton-on-Ouse is simply the wrong place for plans to accommodate large numbers of asylum seekers.
I have long argued that the future of this site should be housing-led redevelopment, delivering the homes, jobs and investment that York and North Yorkshire urgently need. With a serious shortage of housing across our county, RAF Linton-on-Ouse is one of our biggest opportunities to help meet local need and support economic growth.
That has been the case since the site closed.
What is most frustrating is that, years after the site’s closure, that economic potential remains unrealised. Local people are rightly asking why a site capable of delivering thousands of homes is still sitting idle while housing pressures continue to grow.
I will be making it clear to North Yorkshire Council, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence that RAF Linton-on-Ouse should be used to build homes, not house asylum seekers. This proposal risks putting the site’s future development on hold and further delays the homes, jobs and economic investment that local people have been waiting years to see.
Statement from Jo Coles, Deputy mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime:
The safety of the public and wider community cohesion must be at the heart of any decision to house asylum seekers anywhere. The scale of this proposal, combined with the site’s location and limited infrastructure, raises serious and legitimate concerns about the impact on policing, emergency services and wider community safety.
North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service and other local partners agencies must have confidence that they have the resources and operational capacity required to respond effectively to any increased risks.
I have therefore written to the Asylum Minister and the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police to seek urgent assurances on all of these public safety issues and the resourcing implications for council tax payers.
I will continue to do everything I can, holding the police and fire services to account, to ensure the safety of local residents and the wider community of York and North Yorkshire.
