In an open letter to Chancellor John Healey, the group claims North Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire and Crime, Jo Coles, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) may have to take back RAF Linton-on-Ouse by July 2029.
They also say the site has been extensively decommissioned; reinstating water, sewerage, power, and communications would be costly, time‑consuming, and extremely difficult at this rural site.
According to the group, local health, policing, fire, social services, and voluntary providers cannot meet the scale of need without unacceptable pressures on existing provisions, meaning asylum seekers would essentially go without key services.
The group added that proceeding with the centre despite unanimous local opposition would call into question commitments to listen to regional mayors and residents, truly devolve decision‑making, and operate in a democracy.
RAF Linton opened in 1937 and became an important bomber station during the Second World War, when British and Canadian airmen flew dangerous missions against the Nazis.
The base closed in 2020 and was subsequently proposed as an asylum reception centre by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2022.
