Plans for new jail dropped

From the Press Association: 

Plans to build a prison in Dagenham, east London, have been dropped, the Ministry of Justice has said.

The 1,500-place jail was due for construction at Beam Park West, the site of an old Ford factory. But a spokesman for the Government department said the cost of protecting the site against the risk of flooding was too high.

Last April, Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced plans for five 1,500-place prisons, with the first two in Barking and at Runwell, near Colchester in Essex. They replaced proposals for giant Titan prisons which would have held 2,500 prisoners each.

Officials said the Runwell prison plans were still on track. New sites for prisons in London and the South East, where there is a significant shortage of places, are being examined and a shortlist will be published in the summer.

They reiterated the Government's target for increasing prison capacity in England and Wales to 96,000 by 2014. There was strong local opposition to the Barking plans, with residents presenting a petition to Downing Street.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The Ministry of Justice carefully considered the planning risks at Beam Park West, including environmental factors, in particular the potential cost of mitigating flood risk. We have also taken into account the views expressed by local residents. In the light of these considerations, the decision has been taken not to proceed with the site at Beam Park West.

"The Department continues its search... for further sites suitable for 1,500-place prisons. There is a significant shortfall of prison places in London, so sites in and around London remain a priority. We are committed to providing more prison places to ensure that the most dangerous, serious and persistent offenders are locked up and plan to provide 96,000 places by 2014. This includes plans for new 1,500-place prisons."

Dagenham MP Jon Cruddas said the decision was a huge victory for the campaign against the prison.

In a statement posted on his website he said: "Our campaign against the plan for a massive prison on the old Ford site at Beam Park West has succeeded with the announcement that the Ministry of Justice has now decided against any further consideration of building Dagenham prison. We successfully made the argument that it was the wrong place for such a project.

"Despite London Mayor Boris Johnson having offered the land, Justice Secretary Jack Straw was convinced that it was not the right option. This was a huge victory for people power - thousands of local people signed up to the campaign and said no to Dagenham prison."