HMP Berwyn parking problems lead to restricted access for emergency vehicles

Parking problems at the UK’s largest prison have led to restricted access for emergency vehicles, it’s been revealed.

Higher than expected staffing levels are said to have caused the issue at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, which has resulted in some workers resorting to parking on the main road into the site.

The £250m facility on the town’s industrial estate currently has 420 allocated spaces for vehicles with more than 900 staff. It comes despite officials originally estimating there would be closer to 600 people working at the prison when it was built.

The prison service has now applied to create just under 200 extra parking spaces in order to alleviate the problems.

In documents submitted to Wrexham Council, bosses said some staff had experienced difficulty accessing public transport due to travelling long distances, but added they were being encouraged to car share.

They said: “The parking pressure on site has led to staff having to park on areas that were not designated parking areas and along the access roads on the site which restrict access for deliveries and emergency vehicles.

“Due to the original forecasted staffing levels falling considerably short of the actual levels, there has been a strain on parking and the temporary parking area has eased some issues.

“Long term there is potential for an application to be made to make the area a permanent fixture subject to planning permission.

“Berwyn managers are conscious not to have an impact on the surrounding roads due to the lack of prison parking on site.”

They added: “Car sharing is being utilised by some staff at Berwyn with several working the same shift pattern to facilitate this.

“The staff travelling radius goes as far as Aberystwyth and Bangor to the west and Shrewsbury, Manchester and Liverpool to the east and north.”

According to the application, the prison’s car park was not ready to be used when it opened in early 2017, meaning staff had to park at neighbouring factories for the first four months.

It was originally estimated there would be 575 workers directly employed at the facility, but the actual figure currently stands at 651.

The initial projections also failed to take account of employees from other organisations who regularly work at the site.

Although the prison is designed to house around 2,100 men, it has yet to reach full capacity and is holding 1,300 inmates present.

Officials said: “The none directly employed staffing figure currently stands at 262 across all partners with this figure having the potential to rise to 300 as not all partners are in place.

“The parking allocation of 420 spaces reduces to 378 when you remove the allocated low mobility spaces. The disparity is plain to see in relation to the requirement and spaces available.”

The prison said no staff were officially registered as disabled for parking purposes and it is therefore asking to reduce the allocation from 42 to 25, with five new mother and baby spaces.

The proposals will be considered by Wrexham Council at a later date.

By Liam Randall – BBC Local Democracy Reporter (more here on the LDR scheme).