Take it to Jet Blast

Better still,

Take it to the Home Office!:ok:

FB

So, where and what are the locations the military families being sent to? And why can't the channel gang be sent there instead?

FB

SWB the petition was set up just after the Illegal Migration Bill was announced by the Govt. The proposed use of Scampton and Wethersfield was directly linked to the Bill by the Govt. The Bill makes provision for asylum seekers to be detained (p.13 S. 11 of the Bill) in fact it places a requirement on the Home Secretary to detain and remove asylum seekers within 28 days. Attempts to clarify the situation with the Home Office were stonewalled. The petition was named based on the information provided at the time. (15 March)
On 28/29 March the Home Office clarified the situation. Initially asylum seekers will not be detained at Scampton, they will be housed in accordance with current Home Office guidelines. Once the Illegal Migration Bill passes into law Scampton will be used to detain asylum seekers prior to their return to their country of origin or their removal to a third country (Rwanda).
So no the title is far from misleading. Whilst there are similarities with Linton it appears the Home Office have ‘learnt lessons’ and Scampton is being treated very differently.

Anyway sign the petition, the campaign continues.

MOD plods are being turfed out of their training base (Wethersfield - no 'a') along with their families; where they're going nobody seems to know.

Thank you.

Just a word of caution ... don't believe a single thing the Home Office say. I know we were constantly lied to at Linton.


Has anyone seen what the security proposals will be? Inmates promising to stay in their rooms whilst awaiting the next phase of their journey.

SWB
 

Unfortunately the Home Office are being very cagey. They are making vague promises via intermediaries and so far no one has spoken to the community. Everything is being disseminated via vague briefing notes.
We are in touch with the Linton campaign team who have provided invaluable advice.

Excellent. I have just spoken to those on the linton group.

The government "factsheets" are here... https://www.gov.uk/government/public...ion-factsheets


Note Scampton is "up to 2000 occupants"

And "free to roam" as I said before.
Hence detention remains a misleading word.

Yes we got the fact sheets thanks. Like I said once the legislation passes into law Scampton will detain people and as it’s retrospective legislation those who are originally housed there will then become detainees. Not sure how that will work out!

In a nutshell...it won't work out.

That’s what we’re hoping!

Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the actual state of the infrastructure, barrack blocks etc. at Scampton?

What would be the cost of restoring them to an adequate standard for housing these illegal immigrants?

Aren't there any barracks in London or the South East which could be used instead?

I recall that when the RAF first returned in 2001 the government were looking at long term refurbishment, However, the cost was deemed too prohibitive. This, I imagine explains why one Hangar was near the need for demolition and the Officers' Mess was never re-opened. By 2019 the idea was to turn it into an Hotel. It will be interesting to see what funds may be found to repair all accommodation for 2,000 odd young men. Just that this time, these won't be in the RAF, and I imagine far more than have been billeted at anyone time in the past. It has to be said, who the hell pre-1994 ever imagined this would be how things might pan out.

FB

This question has been raised. The HO have said via the local MP that there are 3 of the newer (1950s) blocks that have been identified as suitable and the old WO & SNCOs Mess. They are currently empty and have been for some time. From afar they look structurally sound but no idea on the inside.

The Mess is currently boarded up but again looks sound. It requires a full asbestos assessment prior to any work. Scampton Holdings planned to turn it into a hotel as part of their regeneration plan. As it does not require demolishing and rebuilding this was part of the initial phase. Provision had been made to incorporate the heritage of the building in the refurb.

Asbestos is going to be problematic. Fine if undisturbed but any renovation to the buildings is going to get very costly, very quickly.

A bit hazy now, but I seem to recall one issue at Linton was the electrical supply to the base and what the HO said they would need. In the order of 10-15 megawatts!
Cost to get the required level was prohibitive and estimated by the grid to be a 3 to 5 year timescale.

Another stopper was the isolated location was against HO own guidelines in that centres should be in urban environments where integration would be much easier and not overburden local resources etc.

I do have a dog in the ring as I live in Scampton Village and was based there from 1970 - 80. In addition to the possible asbestos and other problems, nobody seems to have mentioned the abandoned fuel pipelines that crisscross the airfield, as I remember it the original plan was to have a central storage area and a pipe network leading to each pan. It didn't work and bowsers were reintroduced. The network was not decommissioned properly and just abandoned, so, to my way of thinking there is a rusting, fuel contaminated network still nestling beneath the ground.
I do not know how long it lasts but during the Blue Steel days, there were many HTP offloads carried out straight onto the grass. There is also the old SSA.
I am not 100% sure on this next one but I have heard that the men held at Scampton will have had their applications refused and will be awaiting deportation and that the active runway is one of the reasons why Scampton was chosen. I am aware that the runway was refurbished a few years ago but only to allow the Red's hawks to operate, nothing heavier. Standing by to be corrected.

Interesting to note your reference to the runway, I take your point about the Red Arrows, but weren't HHA operating some larger more robust types including an SU-22 and a Buccaneer? But it is interesting, regarding the base's long immediate future, should it be maintained for flights to Rwanda?!?!

FB

I am frequently up there with the dogs, there was an SU22 but I never saw a Buccaneer. They also had a pair of Hunters which were the only ones I saw in the air.

They had the Buccaneer and an ex-Luftwaffe F-4F, but they were works in progress I believe.

FB