‘They’re in for a hell of a fight’ – Scampton councillor responds to Home Secretary

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has insisted the plans would go ahead, despite West Lindsey District Council threatening legal action.

Speaking to BBC reporters, she said it was “unacceptable” that 40,000 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels across the country at a cost of more than £6 million a day.

In response, Coun Roger Patterson, council vice-chairman, said the Government seemed “desperate” in their approach.

He said: “I understand the predicament, we need to find places for these people, but to trash local plans for the site like that for short-term gain is absolutely ludicrous.”

Braintree Council in Essex has lost a legal challenge for an injunction to stop the Home Office developing a similar military base.

Coun Paterson said he does not see anyone ever being housed on the site as local law dictates the Government can only “override” local planning laws for up to a year before formal planning applications need to be submitted.

As a member of the council’s planning committee, he believes such an application will never be approved.

“I can’t see these people ever turning up unless there was some change of law,” he said.

“I can’t see anyone voting for it if it ever came to our committee.”

The plans have scuppered the council’s £300 million “landmark deal” that would preserve, protect and enhance the site – creating thousands of jobs, which the councillor labelled “scandalous”.

He previously said: “We’ve already seen what the Ministry of Defence does to communities in Lincolnshire and West Lindsey when they just pull out and the council is left to pick up the bills and pieces.

“It’s not even about asylum seekers, it could be Scouts, it could be anybody. That site is not suitable.”