The Home Office has said plans to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire have been scrapped because they do not represent value for money.
It added that opening the site in the autumn as planned would have cost £122m by the end of its use in 2027.
The site, home to the Dambusters and Red Arrows, had been earmarked by the previous government to accommodate migrants.
Sarah Carter of the Save Our Scampton campaign group told the BBC it was “amazing news” and that she wanted “everyone to feel how I feel right now”.
Sir Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, was “absolutely delighted” and added that it was the end of a “two-year battle.”
He said: “I view this as a vindication, and now we must move on.”
Sir Edward added that Scampton was “absolutely unique” and renewed his support for redeveloping the historic site.
Due to commitments from the previous government, £60m had already been spent on the site, and work to close it “will begin immediately,” according to a written Commons statement by Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle.
Dame Angela said the scheme’s cost “clearly fails to deliver value for money for the taxpayer.”
“She said: Faster asylum processing, increased returns and tighter enforcement of immigration rules will reduce demand for accommodation like Scampton and save millions for the taxpayer as we drive forward work to clear the asylum backlog and strengthen our border security.”
Labour MP for Lincoln Hamish Falconer added: “I’ve done as I promised.
“From the day the Conservative government announced their intention for Scampton, I’ve fought this disastrous scheme.
“The costs revealed today are disgraceful. The news delivered is excellent news for Lincoln and Lincolnshire.”
The Dambusters is the most famous wartime RAF squadron following its Operation Chastise mission in World War Two to destroy German dams using the bouncing bomb.
Historian James Holland said the migrant housing plan “should never have happened in the first place”.
“There’s an amazing private investment plan to create jobs and business appropriate to that site that would give Scampton lasting meaning and continue its story as an amazing centre of aviation well into the future,” he added.
In 2022, the Red Arrows moved to RAF Waddington, ending a more than twenty-year association with the site.
The Ministry of Defence announced it would close the site to save money, but in March 2023, West Lindsey District Council agreed to a £300m plan to revive it and turn it into a business, aerospace, and heritage centre.
However, weeks later, the Home Office announced its intention to use the site as an asylum centre.
Residents have been campaigning for 18 months to have the plans scrapped.
Addressing those who supported the campaign, Ms Carter added: “Thank you for all the hard work you have put in, the people that were manning the gate, the [protest] camp, petitioning and supporting us.”
Theresa Williams, who lives near the site, said she was “ecstatic” but disappointed that so much taxpayers’ money had been “wasted” during the process.
She said she was now looking forward to a brighter future for Scampton.
“We can now move forward with the £300m investment. That would be amazing for us.”
The BBC originally published this article, which has been rewritten for ease of use.
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