RESIDENTS say months of uncertainty have left their lives “in limbo” following government plans to house up to 1,200 asylum seekers at the former RAF Linton-on-Ouse.
Plans for the 680-acre former flight training school, which would accommodate single male asylum seekers, would effectively double the village’s current population.
Phil Banks, who has lived in Linton-on-Ouse for 40 years, said everything had been “turned upside down” for villagers following the Home Office announcement in June.
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He said: “It’s the unknown – that’s the worst.
“We live in a village through choice. This has just come along and turned everything upside down. Our lives have been left in limbo."
Lyn Wilson, who joined Phil and other residents at Linton-on-Ouse Village Hall to discuss the proposals, said the plans had been a “gloom” that had hung over the village this summer.
She said: “It’s looking like the feasibility studies will continue into the winter, too.”
The Home Office said the site is subject to “detailed” feasibility assessments, which could take several months to complete.
A spokesperson added that the assessments are “routine exploratory work” to understand the site’s potential.
They added: “Any proposals would be subject to the necessary planning permissions and approvals.”
Phil said: “The previous government did the feasibility studies four years ago.
“Very little has changed. Why do they have to spend three months doing them again?”
Helen Kirby said that the former base sits "right at the heart of the village".
Referring to former plans for the site which were scrapped by the Conservative government in 2022, she said: "We had just begun to settle back into our normal routines.
"We've had such upheaval in recent years, the village needs time to heal."
Meg Francis works in health care and lives in Linton-on-Ouse with her young family.
She said: “My husband and I both work for the health service, and we have discussions about the proposal every night.
“The anxiety is palpable in the village, and I think that is due to how out of control we feel.”
'I don't think it's fair for the villagers or the migrants'
The government has said that “extensive efforts” would be made to minimise the site’s impact on local health services, with decisions made in discussion with health partners.
In previous plans laid out in 2022, bespoke, standalone medical facilities were planned on site to prevent existing services from becoming “overloaded”.
But for Meg and other villagers, this facility would never be able to provide the service of a hospital, A&E and specialists.
She said: “Many people who come and seek asylum have gone through traumatic experiences and many will need intensive mental health support.
“Sadly, the NHS does not have the resources to cope with its current demand.
"Adding to this demand, especially for rural primary care providers, is a recipe for disaster.
“When we can’t provide services for these people, it will have a knock-on effect on residents.
"I used to work for the GP practices around Linton, we were struggling then and that was four years ago.
"I don’t think it’s fair to the villagers or the migrants.”
Dean Bovington, who worked at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, said he was concerned about the safety of residents and wanted to understand the security checks in place.
He said: “I think the information shared about the asylum seekers will be quite minimal and I cannot see how the current security checks, including into previous criminal convictions, will be enough.”
It is understood that those seeking asylum will be required to go through mandatory safety checks, which includes criminality checks, as well as fingerprint and photographs.
A Home Office spokesperson said that the government was closing every asylum hotel.
They added: "We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites which are designed to be self-contained to reduce impact on the local community.
"As part of the process, we engage with local authorities and police forces to ensure the safety and security of those in the surrounding area."
Ian Sizer said that he fears the site would “pull public services” away from the rest of the region, including police resources.
It comes after Deputy Chief Constable Catherine Clarke penned a letter to Deputy Mayor of York and North Yorkshire Jo Coles over concerns about potential “regular, sustained and significant protest activity” around the area.
She added that protests of this nature could require significant police resources.
“Should this occur in North Yorkshire, it would be inevitable that resources would be drawn from across the force and would represent a challenge,” the senior officer said.
Ian said that the proximity of the site to the village primary school, where he hopes to send his daughter, is one of his concerns.
The boundary of the site, which sits around 200 metres away from the school, would, he says, be close to potential protest action.
He said: “My family lived here when I was a small child.
“As a forces kid, it was such a dream.
“I moved back here to in 2023, and I want my daughter to have the childhood experiences that I had."
'The village simply isn’t ready for this level of development'
He added: “The former base sits right at the heart of Linton-on-Ouse. The village simply isn’t ready for this level of development.
“We have one main road that runs through the centre, which regularly floods.
“We have one pub and no shop currently, and our sewage and water mains will need to be dramatically improved.”
Councillor Malcolm Taylor, who represents Linton-on-Ouse, agreed.
He said: “Low water pressure is something the village currently deals with.
“This will only get worse should the plans go ahead. The infrastructure would need a major overhaul.”
Responding, a spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “At this stage, we can confirm that a water supply exists to this site, but we would need to undertake a more detailed review of requirements and the network capacity should any substantive redevelopment or change of use be progressed.
“Should this go ahead, then Yorkshire Water would carry out the relevant surveys and investigations necessary to accommodate an increase in supply request, in the same way that we would for any other new development or change of use request.”
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