Council starts legal challenge to planned asylum centre in Linton-on-Ouse
The government's announced plans for the centre at the former RAF base.
Last updated 27th Apr 2022
Hambleton District Council's planning a legal challenge to government plans to house asylum seekers at a former RAF base in North Yorkshire.
Ministers announced this month that a new reception centre would be opened in Linton-on-Ouse.
The plans would see up to 1,500 asylum seekers placed in the accommodation and processing centre.
Dr Justin Ives, the council's chief executive, said the decision had been made after the Government's decision to "press ahead" with the plans despite a "lack of consultation" with residents.
He said: "We have been carefully listening to what local communities have been saying about the potential impact on Linton-on-Ouse, surrounding communities and our district in general.
"We now understand from subsequent conversations this week, that the Government has every intention of pressing ahead with the plans.
"In response to this, Hambleton District Council has instructed lawyers to start work on mounting a legal challenge of the Government's decision."
Dr Ives added: "As the local authority, we are extremely disappointed by the lack of consultation and involvement on this so far and have made this clear to Government during our discussions."
The area's MP Kevin Hollinrake previously said he would "push for these plans to be stopped".
Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, previously said he would "push for these plans to be stopped".
Following a community meeting over the weekend, Mr Hollinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: "This is not a secure facility and having such a large volume of young men being housed in Linton-on-Ouse is completely wrong."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The asylum reception centre at Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, will help end our reliance on expensive hotels which are costing the taxpayer £4.7 million a day.
"We are consulting with local stakeholders about the use of the site.
"The New Plan for Immigration will fix this broken asylum system, allowing us to support those in genuine need while preventing abuse of the system and deterring illegal entry to the UK."