Warrington Residents Against Prison Proposal

So, I guess it was only a matter of time before the banner got taken down.  First off - well done to whoever put it up.

The removal of the banner looks like a clean, professional job, which leads me to think that either someone has taken it as a trophy, English Partnerships took exception, or Warrington Borough Council removed it.  There are other theories, but let’s not go into those just yet…

Whilst we’re speaking about rumours… Rumour has it that Jack Straw is having sleepless nights due to the amount of noise and attention that we’re making.  So, let’s keep up the pressure.  Write to Jack Straw (see Useful Contacts page - if emails to him bounce, send them again, and again - they will get through), write to him again, and again, and again, write to Helen Southworth and Helen Jones, our MP’s and tell them that Warrington says NO to Titan Prison.

You can email us your replies via the Contact Us link - we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s keep up the pressure.

Having driven past the Omega South site today, I saw the following and rushed back to get the camera.  Residents feel strongly about the proposed plans.

Whilst some residents have reported the disappearance of some of the “Say No to Titan Prison” signs allegedly being taken down by a man in a fast food van (and have gone into detail as to send us very detailed descriptions - but we’ll not name and shame - you know who you are and it’s your customers and local residents you’re letting down), they obviously felt the need to shout a little louder.

Good on you, we say!

Residents say Keep Titan Prison out of our Community - Click to enlarge

Visiting the URL at the bottom of the Omega poster takes you to the original vision for the Omega site, which states:

“The south site of Omega will redefine the way people view their working environment, with bespoke design and build solutions that will create a new contemporary campus style setting for business within clusters of landscaped urban space.”

Now it looks like the only type of clusters that Jack Straw is supporting is one in the format of a 2,500-place prison cluster, also known as a Titan Prison.

Residents look at the sign - Click to enlarge

Keep your letters of support coming in.  Use the Useful Contacts page on this site and make your voice heard.

If you haven’t already received one, you can download the WRAPP Flyer from here.  Pass this link on to your friends and spread the word.

The subject of Titan Prisons was debated in the House of Lords today and Lord Bach said:

“…announcements will be made shortly, and perhaps even very shortly.”

With that in mind, we thought we’d take this opportunity to show you the scale of the proposed Titan Prison.  Given the information we have, this is how it will look:

Proposed Prison on Omega Site - Click for larger image

To see an aerial map of the area (without the prison imposed), click here.  The red circle marks the approximate centre of the proposed prison.

Use the Useful Contacts page and write to the people concerned and tell them that Warrington says “No to Titan Prison”

Thanks to everyone who has pointed this out - we’ve had a great response from the leaflets that were recently sent around the area - keep your feedback and your comments coming in to us via the Contact Us page.

It seems as though the email address for Jack Straw that is published on the leaflet is no longer working (I wonder why…?).  Well, all is not lost.  If you intend on contacing Jack Straw, please have a look at the Useful Contacts page on this site and the correct details are on there.

Let us know how you get on.

Update: 08/03/09: Apparently, given the fact that Jack Straw has had some email issues recently (it wasn’t us, honest!), you may see some of them bouncing back.  Keep trying that email address, as he is receiving email at that address, but as a backup also use the alternatives like the online form and old-fashioned snail mail.

We have contacted the Minister for Prisons, David Hanson, MP to ask that now the petitions have been handed in to 10 Downing Street, what is the Governments position on Warrington being a site for a Titan Prison.

In addition to this, a Ward Councillor has asked Mr Hanson, MP to disclose the other sites in England that are being looked at as possible sites for a Titan Prison.

We’ll update you as soon as we have any information…

On Friday 20th February, a group of residents took the 10,000+ name petition to be handed over to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street.

A big thankyou to all who have signed and all who collected petitions.

Below, you can see the residents with the petitions, ready to hand over.

Petitions and residents at 10 Downing Street - Click for full size

Some of you may have received an email from Number 10 if you signed the online petition.  For those who didn’t receive a response, here it is:

Thank you for your petition, on behalf of the Great Sankey North Residents Association, opposing the building of a prison cluster (formerly known as a Titan) on the Omega site in Warrington.

The Government is implementing a 20,000 place building programme to expand the prison estate, including up to three prison clusters.  We have said that it makes sense to locate them where the demand for prison places is greatest, so we are looking at sites in the North West, as well as the West Midlands and London areas.  Security will be the cornerstone of any prison development, no matter where it takes place. It is not unusual for prisons to be located near to local communities, and there is no evidence of which we are aware to indicate that the building of new prisons increases local crime rates or places the safety of local residents at risk.

We also believe that a strong case for the economic benefit for the local area can be made for the building of a new prison, wherever the site, and our experience of similar projects has demonstrated the benefits a prison can bring to a local and regional community.   Building a new large prison has the potential to benefit its local economy by around £15 million a year and create 1,000 jobs directly.

We have yet to confirm our interest in specific sites, and the Omega site in Warrington is one of a number which are under consideration in the North West.  Once sites are identified, we intend to follow the normal planning route, and will make an application for planning permission to the appropriate local planning authority.

Before we submit any planning application, National Offender Management Service officials will hold pre-application consultations with planning officers, local councillors and other interested parties on the detail of the proposed prison development in the usual way.  This will include a public exhibition to explain the proposals and give local people the opportunity to comment.

Don’t believe all the nonsence that you hear about jobs for the local community and this being a good investment for the area.  Don’t be blinded by figures or false promises.  Bear in mind that most of the jobs that would get “created” will be transfers from other prisons, as the nature of this job means that they will require highly-skilled, experienced, pre-trained staff.  This doesn’t fit with the original Omega vision of creating 25,000 jobs.

Keep your emails coming - you can contact us here.

Thanks to everyone who has signed one of our petitions - whether it’s the online one or otherwise.

In total we’ve collected in excess of an astounding 10,000 signatures and each and every one of these will be taken to 10 Downing Street by a group of residents this Friday, 20th February, and handed over to the Prime Minister.

Thanks again to everyone who has signed and supported us so far.  We’ll have more details on the handover coming soon.

Residents Say No to Titan Prison

We’ve noticed a number of “Say No to Titan Prison” signs have been cropping up around the Burtonwood, Whittle Hall and Westbrook areas.  This confirms to us that the feeling among residents is that they are still concerned about the proposed plans to build a Titan Prison on the Omega site and want to make their feelings known loud and clear.

In other news, a large number of residents were out in force this weekend handing out leaflets in many of the Town’s retail parks.  This has prompted an outstanding wave of positive comments in support of the campaign.  Please keep your comments coming.

Meanwhile, WRAPP can confirm that a meeting was held recently with members of WRAPP and local Councilors with the aim of pushing the Omega concept forward.  This concept is to provide 25,000 new hi-tech jobs on the multi-million pound business park.  Keep watching for more details.

Keep your comments coming, and also don’t forget to keep writing to our MP’s, Miller Developments and the Ministry of Justice, voicing your opposal to the planned Prison scheme.  A list of useful contacts and addresses can be found here.