Residents launch petition against plans to build an asylum centre at former RAF Scampton

The proposal involves housing up to 2,000 male asylum seekers, primarily from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, at the historic site of the Dambusters.

However, local residents have raised issues about the lack of adequate provisions for the primary school situated next door to the base.

In recent weeks, a petition calling for a law that prohibits the placement of migrants within three miles of a school has gained significant attention, amassing over 720 signatures and continuing to grow.

Spearheading the petition are Scampton residents Rachael Green and Rebecca, who describe the situation as “the biggest scandal in Scampton right now.”

According to Mrs Green, the Home Office had assured parents in a previous engagement meeting that it would install an eight-foot security fence topped with razor wire between the base and the school. However, contrary to this promise, a fence covered with a green tarp has been erected instead.

Rachel said: “It offers no privacy whatsoever. And there is CCTV and flood lights all around the school, so it looks like a prison camp. It’s not appropriate.”

As contractors reportedly press on with renovations of the proposed migrant accommodations in the H block, Rachael’s worries about shielding the children from the migrants are mounting.

She said: “There is no way you can screen them from the children. Nobody seems to be addressing the safety of the children.”

Rebecca also voiced her concerns about the risks associated with situating an asylum centre so close to a school.

She said: “They [the asylum seekers] could practically just walk into the school and do whatever they like.

“This shouldn’t be happening within such close proximity to children, it’s an absolute disgrace.”

She later urged locals and others who share these concerns to support her petition.

The Home Office has been contacted for a comment.