MoJ looks to overturn rejected plans for ‘super prison’

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) will attempt to overturn a council determination to block design of a large new jail in Lancashire.

The arranging software for a male jail in Ulnes Walton was submitted in August 2021, and although it was encouraged for acceptance by organizing officers, it was turned down by the organizing committee in December.

The committee mentioned the prison would “encroach” on the open up countryside, put pressure on transportation infrastructure in the region, and could also be too noisy for the surrounding household regions.

The MoJ has confirmed that it has released an appeal in opposition to the ruling.

A Prison Services spokesperson claimed: “We have very carefully considered the council’s choice and have determined to attractiveness. We will continue on to get the job done intently with them and the neighborhood through this process.”

The Ulnes Walton jail, sized at 575,000 sq. toes, has been dubbed a “super prison” and would accommodate 1,715 inmates in seven blocks. The program is to develop it adjacent to two other smaller sized prisons, HMP Garth and HMP Wymott.

The land is presently partly applied as area for a boiler household, which would be demolished and moved elsewhere on the exact web page. Construction perform onsite would include making a vehicle park and secure perimeter fence.

The new construct will be delivered in four phases, with the initial phases involving work-enabling works, demolition get the job done, and relocation of the boiler house and fencing. The last section will be the development of the jail, which will be carried out as section of the government’s £4bn New Prisons Programme.

Kier, Wates, Laing O’Rourke and ISG shaped an alliance to produce 4 prisons in this plan. Fashionable approaches of construction will be applied and the contractor will be obliged to commit to 25 per cent of area devote in 25 miles of the web page.

In accordance to MoJ estimates, throughout the design period the proposed jail will produce a GVA of £117m  within just the area.

Community newspaper Lancashire Dwell documented that the original software had more that 130 objections lodged in opposition to it, including drive-back from inhabitants. There are also considerations that the prison populace will outstrip the local populace.

The MoJ has claimed that the Classification C jail, which contains coaching and resettlement cohorts, is essential in the area. It cited data from November 2020, which showed that 1,121 Group C adult men experienced household addresses in the north west and were being currently being held in prisons outside the region.