'Costly' delay for controversial plans at RAF Croughton welcomed by Harry Dunn's family

'Never again will the British people be trodden on by the US government in the way Harry’s family have'
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Harry Dunn's family have welcomed the council's decision to delay controversial plans at RAF Croughton over road safety concerns around the Northamptonshire airbase.

South Northamptonshire Council (SNC) has deemed an application to widen and slightly move the entrance to the base as well as build four new buildings needs an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

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That means the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and United States Air Force (USAF) has to spend potentially millions of pounds evaluating the effect of the scheme, which could take years.

RAF Croughton is used as a secretive listening post by the US governmentRAF Croughton is used as a secretive listening post by the US government
RAF Croughton is used as a secretive listening post by the US government

Harry's family and South Northamptonshire MP Andrea Leadsom oppose the project after Anne Sacoolas, a wife of a US official based at RAF Croughton, allegedly killed the teenager by driving on the wrong side of the road - as well as numerous near-misses before and since.

Their spokesman, Radd Seiger, said in a statement: "It is an astonishing turn of events. The work at Croughton over decades has largely gone unnoticed.

"That will no longer be the case following their conduct over the Anne Sacoolas affair.

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"Never again will the British people be trodden on by the US government in the way Harry’s family have as well as residents in and around these American bases.

Harry DunnHarry Dunn
Harry Dunn

"If the US government is to pursue operations into the future on British soil it will have to do so in accordance with our laws and with our safety at the forefront of everyone's minds.

"That simply has not been the case over the years given the carnage on the roads outside these bases, Harry Dunn being far from the first to have suffered this fate."

Around 250 US military officers are currently based at RAF Croughton, used as a secretive listening post by the American government, alongside 140 defence contractors and a similar number of British officials.

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Harry's family and Mrs Leadsom fear the application is feared to be a precursor to the USAF's plans to base even more surveillance officials there.

The government has previously said there are no plans to expand the airbase and the application is to provide more space for cars to undergo security checks.

SNC decided more work is needed before a formal application is made because it is 'likely to have significant effects on the environment', according to a notice published on July 15.

The notice adds that an expansion and a replacement school at the base were both approved in 2017, which makes the need for an EIA even more necessary.

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"When the proposal is considered alongside these now extant permissions, the cumulative effects of all of these substantial developments is likely to give rise to significant environmental effects," the notice reads.

"Particularly in respect of the impact on the highway network in the vicinity and beyond (in Oxfordshire), the use of natural resources, production waste and pollution and other types of nuisance (i.e. noise)."

Harry, 19, died in hospital after his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a car being driven on the right-hand-side of the road by Anne Sacoolas, who then left the country claiming diplomatic immunity.

Sacoolas was in Northamptonshire because her husband, Jonathan, was working at RAF Croughton, used by the US Air Force, for the American government.

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She secretly left the country three weeks after the crash, having claimed she could not be prosecuted through a legal loophole which meant spouses of US officials were not subject to a waiver of immunity.

Since Harry's death, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has ordered a review of road safety around the base and Northamptonshire Police is working with the MoD and USAF to provide extended driving training for American officials.

Mr Seiger said the teenager 'continues to leave an important legacy behind him that will benefit generations to come both locally and nationally'.

"The US government has for decades simply been used to having its own way when it comes to development at its bases in the UK, paying mere lip service to UK laws," he said.

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"It is an absolute myth, despite what the British government says, that there is any real accountability at these 'RAF' bases and they are used to doing what they want, when they want.

"That is until now. They have been well and truly stopped in their tracks."

Harry's family are aware of four near-misses involving suspected American drivers on the wrong side of the road near RAF Croughton.

Mrs Leadsom called on the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to 'call in' the planning application in the House of Commons earlier this month.

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“It is unthinkable under the circumstances that planning applications from the base can be treated as ‘business as usual’ between two long standing allies," she said.

"Any expansion at the base should not take place whilst this issue of justice for Harry and his family is not resolved, and additionally, consideration should be given to a more appropriate access point for the base to ensure that a tragedy like this does not happen again.”

SNC and the MoD have been contacted for comment.