Drones and AI hopes for Scampton at risk, developer warns as it promises £2bn boost
The company which hopes to bring new life to RAF Scampton warns that transformation plans are at a ‘critical moment’ and could be lost.
Scampton Holdings, which is working with West Lindsey District Council, says in a new report that its plans could add £2billion to the economy in the long-term.
It has revealed that a major defence company is looking to base a final assembly drone production line at the site.
There are also hopes that the former home of the Dambusters squadron could become a hub for AI and aerospace technology due to its 10,000 foot runway.
If its plans are given the green light, an independent report produced by Focus Consultants says it would create up to 3,625 new jobs, provide a £65million boost to local tourism and bring £40m of benefits to the local area.
The Home Office is currently putting the site on the open market, which the company says could be a “strategic and economic disaster”.
Peter Hewitt, chairperson of Scampton Holdings Ltd, said: “The government has the chance to back a regeneration project that would generate £151 million annually, secure over 3,600 long-term jobs, and establish Scampton as a national centre for aerospace, defence, innovation and potentially integral to the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure.
“Selling the site on the open market to recover short-term sunk costs, possibly raising as little as £5 to 8 million, would be a strategic and economic disaster.”
The company fears that “deterioration and asset stripping” on the site could squander the opportunity.
The report outlines the potential of the former RAF Scampton site to become a nationally significant hub for employment, tourism, innovation, and community regeneration, supporting thousands of jobs and preserving the site’s historic legacy.
Key projected benefits include plans for a new air show celebrating Scampton’s aviation heritage, as well as £25 million investment in research, development and skills, supporting STEM education, apprenticeships, and long-term career opportunities for local people. Also a substantial £417 million uplift in community wellbeing, land value and heritage preservation, ensuring the legacy of RAF Scampton is safeguarded for future generations.
Sally Grindrod-Smith, Director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities at West Lindsey District Council said: “This independent report confirms what we have long believed, the former RAF Scampton is a site of huge untapped potential. Through careful planning and investment with our development Partner Scampton Holdings LTD, we can deliver high-quality jobs, national economic value, and a revitalised community asset that honours the site’s iconic past.
“Scampton is also a critical element of an evolving, inter-connected high-growth regional economy and as such represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity — not just for West Lindsey, but for the East Midlands and national economy.”
Local leaders and MPs have previously said they were disappointed that the government hadn’t offered to sell the former RAF base directly to West Lindsey District Council.
A Home Office spokesperson said earlier this year: “This government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, including plans to house asylum seekers in RAF Scampton, which ran up spiralling costs of over £60million between March 2023 and September 2024.
“We have taken swift action to review and discontinue the use of RAF Scampton as asylum accommodation, in order to save the taxpayer millions in projected site costs.
“We must comply with market regulation of public land, rather than just handing it to the council. The sale of the site is taking place in line with the process for disposing of Crown Land.”
It was revealed this week that the abandoned plan to house asylum seekers at the airbase – initiated by the Conservative government – lost the Home Office £48million.