Local authorities responsible for two military bases are seeking High Court injunctions to prevent them being used as holding centres for migrants and asylum seekers.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick is expected to announce the ‘beginning of the end’ for costly asylum hotels today after the scheme – which houses 51,000 people – was criticised for costing nearly £7million a day.
However there has been widespread fury over the government’s approach in transporting military bases for migrant needs with their acquisition of Essex’s RAF Wethersfield and Lincolnshire’s RAF Scampton – the home of the famous WW2 Dambusters squad- meeting fierce local resistance.
It is understood both RAF Scampton and RAF Wethersfield would each hold 5,000 male migrants who would be free to leave the sites when they pleased.
Plans to turn RAF Wethersfield into an asylum centre have been met with fierce resistance
RAF Scampton has also been selected as an asylum seeker detention centre
The RAF base was home to the famous Dambusters unit who pioneered the bouncing bomb
The government is expected to argue that in order to counter the ‘pull factor’ of asylum hotels, creating ‘decent but rudimentary’ accommodation in military camps will dissuade people from making the crossings before the Illegal Migration Bill becomes law.
Last night, Braintree council announced it was applying for an interim injunction at the High Court to prevent RAF Wethersfield being used as it would breach planning rules.
A spokesman said: ‘We would expect such an application would be heard within seven days, and we expect the matter to be heard by the High Court before any asylum seekers are occupied on site.’
West Lindsey council are also preparing to lodge an injunction or seek a judicial review to prevent RAF Scampton being taken ahead of a £300m investment in the area.
The base, which was home to the 617 Squadron and has been used as a museum commemorating the achievements of the unit until recently, had been touted as the North’s ‘biggest regeneration and levelling up project’ after a deal was struck this month to bring aviation, space, education and hospitality industries to the site – creating thousands of jobs.
Developer Peter Hewitt, chairman of Scampton Holdings Limited which is charged with delivering the £300million regeneration at the airbase said he fears the scheme will ‘grind to a halt before it’s even got off the ground’ should migrants move in.
‘The total illogic, dare I say stupidity, of what is proposed is beyond the common sense of any normal person,’ Mr Hewitt told MailOnline.
‘Given a choice of migrant centre of 1,500 single males or £300m regeneration project, we seem to be going for the migrant centre… It’s barking mad.’
Braintree District Council have announced they are seeking a High Court injunction to prevent RAF Wethersfield being used
The government claim they are spending almost £6million a day on the migrant crisis
The rapid change in use of the base has also been blasted by prominent historian James Holland who has said that as the ‘demolition’ occurred on the 80th anniversary of the Dambuster’s efforts it is in particularly poor taste.
He said: ‘The Red Arrows have been told their air space clearance…will be revoked on 1 April.
‘Because the Home Office want to turn it…into a Refugee Detention Centre.’
‘Obviously, refugees need to be housed but why there?
‘Where there are listed buildings, so much heritage, and where there are such brilliant development plans in place and where such a plan is so desperately needed.
‘It’s absolutely insane. A desecration. And in the 80th anniversary year of the Dams Raid? Has this Govt gone totally mad???
‘Surely this cannot be allowed to happen?’
Mr Jenrick told the Cabinet yesterday that average cost of housing a migrant in a hotel had reached £150 a night, more than £6million a day in total.
‘He made it clear that the cost is completely unsustainable,’ a source said. ‘We need to start getting people out of expensive hotels and into more appropriate accommodation.’
The government is also expected to announce that ‘floating accommodation’ will also be used to hold asylum seekers and migrants.
This could include disused cruise ships and ferries as well as barges with ship containers as living quarters.
Sources said Mr Jenrick hoped to start moving new arrivals to military sites within weeks.
Those already in hotels will be moved out as more accommodation comes on stream.
A government source said the accommodation would be ‘appropriate’ and would have access to medical facilities.
The insider added: ‘We think there will be an added deterrent effect simply from the fact that if you come here illegally you are no longer going to be put up in a Hilton and left to chill out for months on end.’
