RAF Scampton's redevelopment plans are "at risk" as the company behind the scheme warn it is at a "critical moment".

Scampton Holdings, which is working with West Lindsey District Council, says the plans could add £2billion to the economy in the long term.

The Home Office, however, has put the site on the open market, which the company warns could be a "strategic and economic disaster".

The major defence company are looking to turn the base into the final assembly line for drone production.

Scampton Holdings also hopes that the site's 10,000-foot runway will make it a hub for AI and aerospace technology.

Should plans go ahead, it will create 3,625 new jobs, provide a £65million boost to local tourism and bring £400million of benefits, according to Focus Consultants.

Chairman of Scampton Holdings, Peter Hewitt, said: "The Government has the chance to back a regeneration project that would generate £151million annually, secure over 3,600 long-term jobs, and establish Scampton as a national centre for aerospace, defence, innovation and potentially integral to the UK's Critical National Infrastructure.

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RAF Scampton redevelopment plans are 'at risk'

"Selling the site on the open market to recover short-term sunk costs, possibly raising as little as £5-8million, would be a strategic and economic disaster.

The company worries that "deterioration and asset stripping" on the site could take away the opportunity.

Local leaders and MPs have previously stated they were disappointed that the Government had not offered to sell the base straight to the council.

A Home Office spokesman said earlier this year: "This Government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, including plans to house asylum seekers in RAF Scampton, which ran up spiralling costs of over £60million between March 2023 and September 2024.

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The Home Office said its decisions at the base are based on 'saving the taxpayer millions in projected site costs'

"We have taken swift action to review and discontinue the use of RAF Scampton as asylum accommodation, in order to save the taxpayer millions in projected site costs.

"We must comply with market regulation of public land, rather than just handing it to the council. The sale of the site is taking place in line with the process for disposing of Crown Land."

The news follows the Home Office wasting £48.5million of taxpayers' money at the base.

The Government axed the controversial proposals for the base in September last year.

Before the plans, which sparked protests among residents, were thrown out, the Government had already spent £60million on the project.

In its recently published annual report and accounts for 2024 to 2025, the Home Office said the site has made a loss of £48.5million.

The report states: "RAF Scampton, the former Ministry of Defence site in Lincolnshire, was planned to be used for asylum accommodation.

"Plans were axed as the assessment found the site was not value for money for the taxpayer. This has resulted in a constructive loss of £48.5million."