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09
Aug 2022
Ouseburn councillor welcomes decision to scrap Linton asylum centre
Ouseburn councillor Arnold Warneken has welcomed today's announcement that plans to house 1,500 asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse have been scrapped.
The government planned to create a reception centre at the former airfield, which is close to villages in the Harrogate district including Great Ouseburn, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton.
The airfield is also just nine miles from Boroughbridge and 13 miles from Knaresborough.
But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said today he had withdrawn the offer to the Home Office for the site.
Green Party councillor Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn on North Yorkshire County Council, said withdrawing the offer was the "right thing to do". He said:
Read more:
- Ripon refugee charity joins calls opposing 1,500 asylum seekers at Linton
- Home Office accused of 'disgraceful actions’ over Linton asylum plan'
Cllr Warneken said the episode revealed was a concerning lack of consultation by the government.
He said he suspected the reason was because a consultation "would have provided a different answer to the one they wanted to hear" but nevertheless this was not the right way to proceed.
Linton on Ouse Action Group, which was set up to campaign against the Home Office's plan, welcomed the news.
Group member Kelly Kirby said it was "absolutely delighted" but also concerned that the same scheme could be dropped on another community soon.
She said action group members has spent "tens of thousands of hours" opposing the scheme.
https://twitter.com/LintonAction/status/1557004360705626114
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, also welcomed the news that Conservative leadership candidate Rishi Sunak had no plans to revive the Linton scheme.
https://twitter.com/kevinhollinrake/status/1556930258183536647
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