North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoë Metcalfe, says the plans for asylum seekers to come to Linton-On-Ouse are on hold.
Kevin Foster, the minister for safe and legal migration, has written to Ms Metcalfe to confirm that they will not accommodate asylum seekers at RAF Linton until it is safe and conforms to all legal requirements, including planning.
Only once that is all in place will they make a formal decision on whether to use the site for asylum accommodation.
He also recognises that the anticipated use of Linton-on-Ouse will create additional policing requirements and that the costs associated with this should be met by the Government.
The plan to house 1,500 male asylum seekers in in a village with half that population caused consternation. Residents have been campaigning hard to stop the move, under the slogan ‘Wrong plan, wrong place’.
Olga Matthias is one of the campaign group. She said tonight: “I’m hoping this is the first sign of a speedy burial for this ridiculous senseless knee-jerk policy making.
“The absolute lack of engagement with anybody, including their own chief inspector for borders and immigration, and the fiasco of Rwanda yesterday, must be pointing them in the direction of the need to come up with a sensible policy, a workable policy.
“Hopefully this will be the first nail in the coffin of this proposal.”
Ms Metcalfe said: “I will continue to work closely with the Government and communities at Linton-on-Ouse to ensure that residents on and off the site are safe, and feel safe – and that the costs of any additional demand on police and fire services, are paid from central funds.”
[tptn_list limit=3 daily=1 hour_range=1]