Rumours of RAF Scampton asylum housing debunked, officials confirm

(SCAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM) RAF Scampton will not be used for asylum seeker housing, local officials and campaigners said this week, after fresh rumours suggested the former airbase was back on the table for migrant accommodation. As of October 30, 2025, the latest official and local sources confirm that RAF Scampton is not being used for asylum seeker housing, and current rumours have been debunked. The site remains off the immediate list of locations under consideration while the government reviews other options to close asylum hotels.

The renewed attention follows earlier reporting in September 2025 that revisited the timeline at Scampton. Although the previous Conservative government announced in March 2023 that the base would house up to 2,000 migrants, the plan was scrapped in September 2024 after a major local campaign and a change in government. That sequence has fueled months of rumours, with residents, campaigners and local businesses repeatedly asking for clarity on whether the abandoned plan might be revived.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard addressed those questions on September 8, 2025, saying Labour is reviewing all military sites as part of its broader effort to end hotel use for asylum seekers. He stopped short of announcing any move at Scampton specifically.

“It’s right that we look at every single site again, checking whether it can be suitable for the temporary but adequate accommodation that we seek to build,”

he said, without confirming any renewed plans for the airbase. Officials and campaigners in the village say that statement has been misread by some as a signal that Scampton is back in play, fueling rumours that the axed scheme was quietly returning.

Local leaders involved in the Save Our Scampton campaign say the uncertainty is wearing down residents who spent more than a year fighting the original plan. In a pointed message to ministers and officials, Sarah Carter, spokesperson for Save Our Scampton, said:

“You said you were going to put it on the open market – it’s still not on the open market yet. What are you playing at? You are risking this £300m deal that we have got. You are risking the sanity of the residents who live here, and the wider community.”

Carter’s remarks reflect a view widely shared in the village: they want a clean, final confirmation that the site will be marketed for redevelopment rather than held in reserve for asylum accommodation.

Business figures who have promoted a large-scale investment at Scampton argue the continuing rumours could scare off investors and stall work that, they say, would deliver major gains to Lincolnshire and beyond. Peter Hewitt of Scampton Holdings emphasised the potential economic payoff that has been laid out in plans discussed locally.

“This is £2.1 billion of benefit to the local economy and the economy as a whole. I think the message is ever so simple – the Home Office who now own the site must make their mind up, get on with it and stop being indecisive,”

he said. Hewitt’s intervention underlines the scale of what supporters say is at stake: a £300 million agreement embedded within a wider vision that they argue could transform the former base and the communities around it.

For residents, the persistence of rumours about RAF Scampton has been more than a political talking point. The idea that the airbase could house up to 2,000 migrants—announced by ministers in March 2023—triggered a major local campaign that pulled in volunteers, parish councils and businesses. When the plan was scrapped in September 2024, campaigners claimed a victory for the village and for what they described as a more suitable, large-scale development path. A year later, mention of a cross-government review revived the debate, even though officials have been clear that there is no current decision to use Scampton for asylum accommodation.

The Home Office is expected to make further announcements about other sites as it tries to move people out of hotels, but Scampton is not among those being considered for immediate use, according to local and official updates. That aligns with the message from the Ministry of Defence that assessments are ongoing across the estate but do not, at this point, include a plan to revive housing at Scampton. In practical terms, that means the base remains in limbo: not designated for asylum seeker housing, not yet on the open market, and still central to a £300 million proposal that backers say could unlock “£2.1 billion of benefit.”

The back-and-forth has left campaigners asking the Home Office to make a definitive call. Save Our Scampton argues that the site should be placed on the open market without delay to secure the investment package they say is at risk.

“You said you were going to put it on the open market – it’s still not on the open market yet,”

Carter said, repeating a demand the group has made since the plan was abandoned last year. Her frustration, she added, is grounded in daily conversations with residents who want to see the airbase’s future settled so that local businesses and public services can plan ahead.

At the core of the dispute is trust—trust in official statements, trust in timelines, and trust that promises will be kept. Pollard’s comment that the government must “look at every single site again” was intended to set out a method for replacing hotel accommodation with “temporary but adequate” alternatives. But in Scampton, where a year of campaigning ended with a scrapped plan, those words have landed differently. The minister did not announce a proposal for RAF Scampton and did not confirm a new timetable, but the mere possibility of a review was enough to restart rumours in local WhatsApp groups, village meetings and on social media.

Local business leaders say the noise has real-world costs. Hewitt’s call for the Home Office to “make their mind up, get on with it and stop being indecisive” reflects a fear that delays will undermine confidence and make it harder to lock in contracts tied to the £300 million deal. While supporters frame the project as a long-term bet on jobs and regeneration for Lincolnshire, opponents of any backtracking argue the village has already borne months of uncertainty and deserves a clear, final decision that takes RAF Scampton out of the asylum debate entirely.

Officials have tried to cool the speculation by pointing to the status quo. As of October 30, 2025, the position is unchanged: RAF Scampton is not being used for asylum seeker housing. That message has been echoed by local sources who say they have received no notice of any operational preparations on site. It also fits with the broader government line that decisions are being made case by case across the estate and that the priority remains closing hotels rather than reviving sites previously ruled out.

The stakes for Scampton are shaped in part by the size of the original proposal. The March 2023 announcement that up to 2,000 migrants could be housed at the airbase set a clear upper bound that animated the local campaign. Even after the plan was scrapped in September 2024, the scale of that number has remained a touchstone in public debate, resurfacing whenever new rumours circulate. Campaigners say the figure is a reminder of how quickly the character of the village could change, while business leaders cite it to argue the site should be reoriented toward economic development rather than temporary accommodation.

For anyone tracking official statements, the government has urged the public to rely on verified updates rather than rumours. The Home Office publishes policy and operational updates on asylum accommodation on its website, including guidance on support and placements for people seeking asylum. Those updates can be found at the UK Home Office asylum accommodation guidance page: UK Home Office asylum accommodation guidance. Local officials say any shift in Scampton’s status would be communicated formally, not leaked through anonymous messages or social media posts.

The immediate next steps at RAF Scampton hinge on a decision to market the site. Carter’s complaint that it is “still not on the open market yet” captures the central frustration in the village. Campaigners argue that until the Home Office moves to sell or agree the development terms, rumours will continue to fill the vacuum. Supporters of the investment plan say the same delay risks the “£2.1 billion of benefit” Hewitt described and point to a wider ripple effect across suppliers, training providers and small firms planning around the project’s schedule.

For now, the government review continues, but with the repeated assurance that there is no current decision to use RAF Scampton for asylum accommodation. Ministers maintain that the goal is to find “temporary but adequate” alternatives to hotels, and that every site assessment will be judged on suitability. In Scampton, residents, campaigners and investors say the test has already been met and the answer has already been given: the airbase should not be returned to the asylum system. Until a final market listing lands, though, they expect more rumours—and they are determined to challenge each one swiftly with the facts on the ground.

In the absence of fresh announcements, the picture at Scampton is stable. The plan to house up to 2,000 migrants was abandoned in September 2024; repeated checks in September 2025 and as of October 30, 2025 confirm there is no active plan to revive it. The Defence Minister’s review statement signalled a broad audit, not a change in Scampton’s status. Campaigners say they will keep pressing until the site is formally listed for sale. And every time new rumours swirl about asylum seeker housing at RAF Scampton, the response from village leaders is the same: point people back to the official record, and keep the focus on the decisions that will shape the base’s long-term future.