Emergency planning law for RAF Scampton and Wethersfield asylum centres defended

The government has defended its use of emergency planning laws to build accommodation for asylum seekers at two former RAF bases.

Home Office officials say work to convert RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, and RAF Wethersfield, in Essex, is covered by the Class Q powers.

West Lindsey and Braintree Councils however say it has acted unlawfully.

After a two-day hearing in London, Mrs Justice Thornton reserved her judgement to a later date.

The judicial review brought by the two councils and Mr Gabriel Clarke-Holland, a resident living near to RAF Wethersfield, was heard at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Paul Brown KC, representing the Home Secretary, told the hearing the increasing numbers of people seeking asylum was a clear emergency and that the government was right to use the emergency planning powers.

Under Class Q sites can be used without the need to adhere to the usual planning process for a 12-month period.

Lawyers representing the two councils claimed on Tuesday there was no emergency and that the government should not therefore rely on the permitted development legislation.

Mr Brown, however, said that a record 105,000 asylum seekers were being accommodated in the UK by the end of December 2022.

He added that as of March the Home Office was providing accommodation for 48,000 individuals in about 380 hotels at a daily cost of £6.2m.

The government is also being challenged over the Environmental Impact Assessment in relation to the one-year duration allowed under Class Q,.

According to the Local Demcoracy Reporting Service, Mr Brown said at the time of the initial screening the project was intended to last for a year and its future was "yet to be determined" and the screening was therefore appropriate.

The hearing has previously heard the government will seek to use both sites for a further three years beyond April 2024, by applying for a Special Development Order (SDO).

Mr Brown said the home secretary was well aware she might not get subsequent permission and would have to "pack up and go".

Both councils have claimed there was a clear "disconnect" between what was said in public about the temporary nature of the plans and what was said internally.

The Home Office intends to use MDP Wethersfield, near Braintree, Essex, to house up to 1,700 single male asylum seekers.

In Lincolnshire, the government plans to house up to 2,000 asylum seekers on land at the former RAF Scampton site, which has led to a number of protests.

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