Preparations 'well under way' to put RAF Scampton on the market

The decommissioned airbase will be put on the market soon, although an exact date hasn’t been given.

The government announced it would sell the site more than a year ago in September 2024, after scrapping controversial plans for housing asylum seekers there.

West Lindsey District Council is hoping to launch an ambitious regeneration plan with Scampton Holdings, which it says would boost the local economy by more than £2 billion.

Council leader Jackie Brockway recently visited the site with Mayor Andrea Jenkyns and Scampton Holdings to receive an update.

“I was pleased to hear first-hand from the Home Office that preparations are well under way for marketing of the site,” she told a council meeting on Monday, November 10.

“It was helpful to hear from Scampton Holdings about their recent analysis. Headline figures include a total benefit of a staggering £2bn from the regeneration.

“I’ve written to the Prime Minister, along with Lincolnshire County Council and City of Lincoln Council, and urged him to act quickly to realise the benefits.”

The report released by Scampton Holdings in August lays out a vision to combine the site’s rich RAF history with a high-tech aviation future.

The highlights include a £2 billion boost for the economy over the next 15 years through employment, tourism and construction; the possibility for an annual airshow, using the airbase’s 10,000 ft working runway; 3,600 new jobs created over its lifetime, with 800 being ‘high-tech high-skilled’ in the defence and aerospace industry and interest from major defence companies and a drone manufacturer.

However, it said that the opportunity could be squandered if the government doesn’t act soon to put the site up for sale.

Rumours have circulated in recent weeks that the government could look at RAF Scampton again for asylum seeker housing, although these have now been dismissed.