Regional leaders are set to hold urgent talks to coordinate opposition to the government’s plans to house asylum seekers at the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse site.
In a letter to the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire and the leader of City of York Council, North Yorkshire Council leader Carl Les said the authority recognised the need to provide safe and dignified accommodation for people seeking asylum, but argued the proposed location was “the wrong proposal in the wrong location”.
The Government has announced its intention to use the former RAF base north of York to house hundreds of asylum seekers for an undisclosed period.
In his letter, the Conservative leader stressed that the council’s objection was not to supporting asylum seekers, but to what he described as the unsuitability of the rural site.
He wrote: “North Yorkshire Council fully recognises the importance of ensuring that those seeking asylum are treated with dignity and provided with safe and appropriate accommodation while their case is processed.
“This is not in question.
“However, it is equally our duty as publicly elected representatives to speak and act in the interests and well-being of the communities we serve as our primary concern.”
Councillor Les said there had been “strong and consistent opposition” from residents locally and across the wider area.
He argued that concerns were based on the village’s limited infrastructure rather than opposition to asylum seekers themselves.
He said Linton-on-Ouse was “a small, rural village with extremely limited infrastructure and services”, adding there were insufficient healthcare facilities, transport links, opportunities for community integration and access to essential day-to-day services to support such a large number of people.
The letter also warned the proposal would place additional, currently unfunded, demands on policing and other public services.
Cllr Les said the isolated nature of the site could also have a detrimental impact on those accommodated there because of the lack of support networks available.
Referring to previous proposals to house migrants on the site, which were abandoned in 2022, he added: “This is the wrong proposal in the wrong location evidenced by the fact the site has been considered and rejected previously on the basis that it is not suitable.”
The council leader is now seeking an urgent meeting involving North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to develop a unified regional response.
He said the authorities should consider “all available levers – political, strategic, operational and legal” to persuade the Government to reconsider the decision, engage with local leaders and identify a more suitable solution.
A spokesperson for the York and North Yorkshire Mayor, David Skaith, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the Mayor would always act in the best interests of the residents he served.
They added: “The Government’s proposals for RAF Linton-on-Ouse are not in the best interests of local residents, the asylum seekers who would be housed there, or North Yorkshire’s public services.
“The mayor has long advocated housing development on this site, and these proposals put at risk significant development that would help address the housing crisis.
“The mayor will meet with local leaders in the coming days to ensure a unified and clear message is sent to the Government that this is not the right site.”
The government says it will seek planning permission to house up to 3,750 people at Linton, and former RAF bases at Bicester in Oxfordshire and Barnham in Suffolk.
It is understood that the North Yorkshire base could be used to accommodate around 1,200 single men, although this is yet to be confirmed.
