Chorley prison inquiry to restart in September
The debate on whether or not to overturn the council’s refusal of plans for a 1,700-inmate prison will resume this autumn after the Ministry of Justice’s appeal was recommended for dismissal by the government’s appointed planning inspector.
Inspector Tom Gilbert-Wooldridge agreed with Chorley Council’s planning committee that the benefits of the development would not outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and highways safety. He subsequently suggested the secretary of state dismiss the appeal.
Instead of following the advice of the inspector, the secretary of state intervened to give the MoJ renewed hope of a positive outcome, affording the applicant the opportunity to provide additional information to satisfy the road safety issues.
If the MoJ can assuage the highway safety issues, the “benefits [of the scheme] would be sufficient to clearly outweigh the Green Belt harm and the remaining other harms”, the secretary of state stated in a letter to the applicant’s advisor Cushman & Wakefield.
Read the full letter, including the planning inspector’s recommendation.
The inquiry will reopen on 19 September, the Planning Inspectorate confirmed.
Part of the government’s £4bn New Prisons Programme, the category C facility would be located on 106 acres between two existing facilities south-west of Leyland; HMP Garth, an 850-capacity category B prison, and HMP Wymott, a category C prison with space for 1,200 inmates.
Category C prisons hold prisoners whose escape risk is considered to be low but who cannot be trusted in open conditions.
Comprising seven four-storey blocks, each capable of housing 245 prisoners, the project would also include kitchens, workshops, and kennels for prison dogs.
A 525-space car park and a 1,326-metre perimeter fence also feature within the proposals.
In addition, the boiler house that services the existing two prisons would be relocated, as would Wymott Bowling Club.
The Chorley prison is one of four new facilities proposed under the government’s New Prisons programme.
By the middle of this decade, around 18,000 additional prison places are to be created as a result of the programme, both through the construction of new facilities and the upgrade and expansion of existing ones.
Contractors Wates, Laing O’Rourke, ISG, and Keir have been appointed to deliver the new prisons.
