New Prison Name Shortlist Revealed

The formal name for the ‘North Wales Prison’ in Wrexham will likely be one of the list released today.

Russ Trent, governor of the new prison, said: “We now have a shortlist of six names, all suggested by the local community, for the prison.”

“We would now like to hear people’s views on this shortlist as the final decision is made.

“I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions and our committee for coming up with the shortlist.”

The ‘transparent’ process is quite hard to get details on, with one straightforward Wrexham.com FOI now remaining unanswered for 57 days. We were told the delay is caused as the ‘naming of the prison is quite complex and needs final approval from The Queen’, the first royal issue with a simple FOI we can find.

The shortlisted names released today are as follows, with comment from the National Offender Management Service:

Y Berwyn
We had a number of suggestions for Mynydd, which is Welsh for ‘mountain’ because of the landscape. The prison’s naming sub-committee felt this was an excellent choice but then wanted it to be more localised so suggested naming it after the nearby mountains – hence Y Berwyn.

Bridgeway
The name of the main road into the estate where the prison is based.

Marcher
Named after the wider ‘marches’, the location on the boarder of Wales and England where the prison is located.

Cerrig Tan
Welsh for Fire Stone, the former factory on the prison site.

Dee Vale
Based on the river which runs through the area.

Whittlesham
The Saxon name for Wrexham.

(NOTE: Wrexham.com believes it ought to be WRITTLESHAM rather than Whittlesham but will clarify!)

To give any feedback on these suggestions people are encouraged to email [email protected]

National Offender Management Service say: “The prison’s naming sub-committee decided on the shortlisted six based on suggestions from the community and their local knowledge.”

NOMS have also added: “The sub-committee members are: Tom Bunce – Wrexham Industrial Estate. Ray Squires – Abenbury Community Council. Neil Rogers – Wrexham Borough Council. Dilwyn Roberts – Leader of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board. Members of Wrexham Youth Parliament.”

As we first noted, the name will have to be signed off by the Queen as the prison is Crown Property.