ABOVE: Enforcement Officers observing from the perimeter of the site believe ongoing work to be in clear contradiction to a legal Stop Notice
The Home Office is continuing to carry out redevelopment work ‘at pace’ at RAF Scampton despite having provided written assurances that all work has stopped.
The former RAF base had been earmarked by the Home Office to provide ‘basic and functional accommodation’ for up to 2,000 single male adult asylum seekers. However, with West Lindsey District Council believing the Home Office to have breached planning permissions (specifically relating to the Listed Buildings and site’s heritage), a Temporary Stop Notice and a subsequent Stop Notice were issued in September.
Although West Lindsey District Council received written confirmation from the Home Office on 3 October, confirming all work has stopped in compliance with the latest order, ‘it is clear activity persists at pace on the site’, notes the Council. The works being undertaken include the citing of Portakabin accommodation and ‘significant and invasive groundworks in order to make the necessary utilities connections’.
The Home Office has not challenged the issue of the Stop Notice and ‘has not provided reasoning as to why works on site continue despite a stop notice being in place’ explains the Council, who are also apparently unable to access the site to undertake routine enforcement monitoring.
IMAGE: WEST LINDSEY DISTRICT COUNCIL
