Posted: Mon 3rd Nov 2014

Deferred Wrexham Super Prison ‘Reserved Matters’ Up For Second Debate

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This article is old - Published: Monday, Nov 3rd, 2014

Councillors will once again meet to discuss the amended version of Wrexham’s Super Prison ‘reserved matters’ this evening, after initial proposals were rejected last month.

At October’s Planning Meeting councillors voted in favour to defer Wrexham’s Super Prison’s reserve matters decisions until further information can be supplied. This was despite an initial recommendation to approve the reserved matters in their then current form.

Despite a few local reports, last month’s meeting was not to confirm or reject the building of the Super Prison. Permission to actually build the prison was granted by councillors in January of this year – the recent discussions by the Planning Committee have centred on the ‘nitty gritty’ of the development application.

Speaking at last month’s meeting, Chairman Michael Morris said: ““The general feeling is what is the point, they could do cartwheels around this Council Chamber and it wouldn’t change the recommendations. To me the whole thing has been rushed again to get it out of the way and I can understand to some extent why that’s happening. We need to be sure that what we are getting it what is acceptable.”

However a revised application of the reserved conditions has since been submitted to the Council and will be discussed / debated once again by councillors this evening.

The ‘Reserved Matters’ within the report covers aspects such as signage, parking, drainage and highways.

The report states: “Since the deferment the applicant has provided information on all of the conditions that were attached to the Outline Planning Permission, even where those conditions did not expressly require the submission of full details at this time.

“The applicant has provided an information pack re-presenting the information that they had submitted up to the date of the October Committee, clarifying outstanding details and submitting further amendments, principally related to drainage, contamination, external materials and off-site directional signage.

“The report below has been re-written to reflect this information and to provide greater clarity to the Committee in making its decision on the Reserved Matters and on the details submitted in respect of the other conditions attached to the Outline Planning Permission.”

Over recent weeks the ‘Super Prison’ has been a hot topic of debate in Wrexham, with concerns raised over the strain the prison could put on the local health service.

Last week health campaigners argued that following the closure of several community hospitals in the area, Wrexham Maelor Hospital is already under severe pressure.

Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University researcher Robert Jones said: “While the case to receive full planning permission will once again be put before Wrexham Council Planning Committee on Monday (3 November 2014), what this information shows is that the true cost of the prison still remains unknown to politicians in Wales.

“In particular, until a Health Care Needs Assessment is completed, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board will remain in the dark about what requirements and costs the Wrexham ‘super’ prison is likely to present them.

“Prisonser healthcare does not come cheap and given the potential for very high medical costs to the local area from the new prison, it is essential to ensure that not a single brick of the prison is laid before we know the full impact of the ‘super’ prison.”

However Councillor Hugh Jones last week responded to comments by saying: “A Health Needs Assessment is currently being completed based on existing models used in other prisons. The assessment will inform the models of care required and the associated costs, which will be funded by a transfer of resource from the UK government who currently are responsible for the healthcare of these prisoners in the English prisons.

“It has already been stated before that although this is going to be a large prison, the intention is that the majority of healthcare services will be provided within the Prison. While it is anticipated that there will be little impact on services in the community or in WMH, the project will consider these to ensure that any possible impact is identified and addressed in our planning.

“There is evidence to suggest £23 million will be brought into the local economy with the creation of 1,000 jobs.

“I think it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how a prison operates. Picking and choosing lines from the Welsh Affairs Select Committee to suit one particular angle could be potentially misleading. It is a shame people are trying to make political mileage out of this great opportunity.”

Last month’s Planning Meeting saw councillors take part in a heated debate over the reserved matters of the Super Prison. For those who fancy watching the meeting / taking part in a live webchat – the meeting will be broadcast from 6:30pm on the Wrexham Council Website.



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