CAMPAIGNERS SEEK REVIEW OF LINTON-ON-OUSE ASYLUM CENTRE COSTS

The Linton-on-Ouse Action Group has asked Chancellor John Healey to investigate plans for an asylum centre at a former RAF base in North Yorkshire. In an open letter, it calls for a full financial review before the government spends public money on the conversion. Its estimates put the scheme’s cost at £270.9m over a 23-month operating period. The group says costs could reach £443 to £853 per occupied bed per night, depending on occupancy.

The former base stands on the edge of Linton-on-Ouse, and the campaigners compare their estimates with a hotel benchmark of £144.98 per night. They say the site may have to return to the Ministry of Defence by July 2029, though that deadline remains unconfirmed. “How can converting a former military base into temporary asylum accommodation represent value for money when the Home Office may have less than three years to use it?” the group asks. The campaigners acknowledge that their calculations are estimates rather than official Home Office costings.

The Home Office says its plan to close asylum hotels and use alternative accommodation is saving taxpayers money. The group says it recognises the government’s responsibility to provide asylum accommodation and its ambition to reduce reliance on hotels. The National Audit Office found in March 2024 that the government’s early programme of large asylum sites was expected to cost £46m more than hotels. It also identified £2.9m in fruitless expenditure on an abandoned 2022 proposal for RAF Linton-on-Ouse; campaigners want a new business case to include infrastructure improvement costs.