Council bosses lose High Court fight over Home Office plans to house asylum seekers at Scampton
It follows a two day Judicial Review in London
Council bosses who argued that Government plans to use land at the former RAF Scampton site to house asylum seekers should be quashed have lost a High Court fight.
It comes after a two day Judicial Review took place on the 31st October and 1st November.
It was over Home Office plans to house asylum seekers at the former RAF Scampton base in Lincolnshire.
West Lindsey District Council said the decision to use land at the disused airfield, where the Dambusters were based during the Second World War, is unlawful.
Local leaders have fought to stop the plan to place up to 2,000 asylum seekers at the former airbase, saying it puts at risk a ÂŁ300 million pound regeneration plan.
During the Judicial review the court heard claims that the Government's use of the site was 'unlawful' and did not meet planning permissions.
But the Home Office said they're confident that using surplus military sites in this way does meet requirements and insist it provides cheaper accommodation than hotels for those arriving in small boats.
Braintree District Council, which is based Braintree, Essex, has made a similar complaint in relation to plans for land that once formed part of nearby RAF Wethersfield.
A local resident, Gabriel Clarke-Holland, is also challenging plans for Wethersfield.
Ministers said the claims should be dismissed.
The former RAF Scampton site was home to the Dambusters squadron which had a pivotal role in World War II.
Recently the Dambusters Officer's mess at Scampton was given listed status
Nineteen Lancaster bombers, crewed by 133 airmen, took part in Operation Chastise on the night of May 16-17 1943, which is now known as the Dambusters Raid.
Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the raid targeted three dams in the industrialised Ruhr region of Germany using the "bouncing bomb" invented by Barnes Wallis.
They successfully breached the Mohne and Eder dams, and the Sorpe was damaged.