A COUNCIL has asked to be given 28 days notice before any asylum seekers are moved into a former RAF base near York.

Hambleton District Council says its request for 28 days days notice rather than seven - if the Government decides to go ahead with opening an asylum seeker reception centre at the ex-RAF Linton on Ouse base - is being considered by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Council leader Mark Robson says the authority continues to understand that no final decision has been taken by Ministers to accommodate asylum seekers at RAF Linton and that Hambleton will receive at least seven days’ notice from the Home Office should it intend to begin moving people onto the site.

He said the council had received a holding response from the Home Office in relation to a 'Pre-Action Protocol' letter thatythe council had issued a few weeks ago.

The Home Office wanted until July 15 to respond to the Pre-Action Protocol letter in full.

"We have been further reassured by the Home Office that it agrees that the time for commencing any legal proceedings will not start until it has made a final decision and that this will not be made before 15 July when we expect to receive the Pre-Action Protocol response," he said.

“In view of the reassurances from the Home Office, the council awaits the substantive response to the Pre-Action Protocol letter before making a definitive decision on next steps."

He said the council was in regular contact with its legal advisers regarding the Pre-Action Protocol correspondence and relevant planning matters.

"Once the response is received, it will be carefully considered and assessed alongside the legal advice the council receives," he added.

The Press reported last month that the Linton plans would be on hold until they were deemed to be safe and to conform to all legal requirements, including planning.

Home Office Minister Kevin Foster MP said that once these issues were satisfied, the Home Office would then make a formal decision on whether to use the site for asylum accommodation.

The Government plan is for the site to house 1,500 ‘destitute single adult male asylum seekers’ for up to six months while their asylum applications are processed.

The Home Office has said that the centre would provide safe and secure accommodation and would be designed to be self-sufficient to reduce the need for the inhabitants to leave the site and therefore minimise any impact on the local community.

It was planned to have full-board accommodation, on-site recreation, exercise facilities, a shop, medical facilities, and places for faith and worship, but shuttle buses would be organised to bring asylum seekers into York for visits.