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14
Apr 2022
Village on fringes of Harrogate district to house asylum seekers
The former RAF base at Linton-on-Ouse will be used to house asylum seekers, the government has announced today.
It's part of a controversial Home Office plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed.
Before potentially being flown out to the African country, asylum seekers will be held in 'reception centres' across the UK for up to six months, with the first announced being at Linton-on-Ouse.
The site closed in 2020 after being used by the RAF for almost a century. It was most recently used as a jet training facility and Prince William trained there.
Although located in Hambleton, it is only about a mile from the Harrogate district, on the other side of the River Ouse. It's close to villages Thorpe Underwood, Little Ouseburn and Nun Monkton.
Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said in a statement he had been assured by the immigration minister that the time limit for any asylum seekers to remain at the site will be 180 days
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The government said it hopes the changes will help it "crack down" on people-smuggling gangs.
According to the BBC, 28,526 people are known to have crossed the channel in small boats in 2021, up from 8,404 in 2020.
Home Secretary, Priti Patel, said:
The proposal has been criticised by human rights groups and opposition political parties.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the proposals a “shameful announcement meant to distract from Boris Johnson’s recent law-breaking".
She added:
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