Super prison shock for town

RUMOURS spread throughout Warrington today that the Government was again looking at the town as a possible site for a new super prison.
Oakwood was singled out as the possible site for the prison – which when built would be the biggest prison in the UK.
But it is believed the rumour originates from confusion between a statement from the Ministry of Justice that the North West was one area being considered for the super prison and another reference to HMP Oakwood – a new privately run prison nearing completion near Wolverhampton.
Justice secretary Chris Grayling – ironically an unsuccessful Parliamentary candidate at Warrington some years ago – unveiled plans for a new super prison and announced the imminent closure of six old prisons.
He said a feasibility study on the proposed new prison had started and suggested sites in London, the North West or North Wales were being considered.
Mr Grayling said: “We have to bring down the cost of our prison system, much of which is old and expensive.
“But I never want the courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available.
“So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system.”
In 2009, the previous Labour government abandoned plans for a “Titan Prison” housing more than 2,500 prisoners on the Gemini development site at Warrington after a massive protest campaign from local residents who argued that the town already had two prisons – Risley and Appleton Thorn Young Offenders Institution – and should not be expected to provide space for a third.