Warrington Residents Against Prison Proposal

Referring back to a previous post, where we asked David Hanson, MP - Minister for Prisons to comment regarding the Government’s position on Warrington being a site for a Titan Prison, we’ve had a response.

You won’t be surprised to hear that it didn’t specifically answer either of the questions posed to the Minister, which were around the decision date and other sites in England.  But he is aware of local opposition.

Below is a copy of the letter:

Response from David Hanson, MP - Minister for Prisons - Click to enlarge

Thanks, Mr Hanson, for keeping us waiting and telling us nothing that we didn’t already know.

We can also add that our MP’s, Helen Jones and Helen Southworth have also yet to respond to the same questions.  To date, they have also still not signed up to the Early Day Motion.  Thank you to those MP’s who have signed up.

We need you all to keep up the pressure on Jack Straw and let him be under no illusion that we are absolutely opposed to these proposals.

As for Helen Jones and Helen Southworth, their silence so far has been noted.  We need to get them to stand up for Warrington, to answer our questions and to sign the Early Day Motion.  It’s not too much to ask of our MP’s is it?  Their contact details are on the Useful Contacts page or click on their names in this post to email them.

Below is a copy of a letter sent to Jack Straw, urging him to come out and state his intentions and timescales, and stressing all party opposition to this in Warrington:

Letter to Jack Straw from WBC - Click to enlarge.

The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
102 Petty France
London SW1H 9AJ

Dear Mr Straw

TITAN PRISON / PRISON CLUSTER IN THE WARRINGTON AREA

On 19 December 2008 you wrote in response to a letter regarding the possibility of a Titan Prison / Prison Cluster in the Warrington area. Thank you for this letter which helpfully clarified your position on this matter.

We are aware that in early February your colleague David Hanson announced the decision to site the new Welsh prison near Caernarfon. We have also read a report in the press (Construction News) that Mr Hanson has stated in a written response that construction work on the first prison cluster could start in 2010. In view of these statements we are wondering what the timescale is for an announcement about the timing of the new prison for the north west? We know our local residents would welcome clarification of this.

We would like to repeat the opposition from all three political parties on the Council to siting a new prison cluster on the Omega site or indeed anywhere else in Warrington. Nothing has changed our view since the original motions were passed at our Council Meeting in November. In particular we are most concerned about the negative impact on businesses deciding whether to locate onto the Omega site if a prison were to be located there. We remain committed to the development of Omega as a high quality business location and do not believe a large new prison would be helpful to achieving this ambition.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely
Councillor Ian Marks        Councillor Keith Bland
Leader                             Deputy Leader

Let’s see how Mr Straw replies.

In a letter sent to Warrington Borough Council, the Rt Hon Jack Straw, MP says:

“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, my 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.”

The full letter is here:  (click image to enlarge)

Letter to Council Leader Ian Marks from Jack Straw - Click to enlarge

Keep your letters going to Miller Developments and our MP’s, Helen Southworth and Helen Jones.

And as always, keep your emails, comments and enquiries coming to us at WRAPP.  We’ll keep you updated.