Probation office set to move away from new centre for abuse victims
‘NOT APPROPRIATE’TO HAVE ONE NEAR THE OTHER SAYS MINISTRY
APROBATION service office is to relocate after it was deemed “not appropriate” for it to be near a new contact centre for victims of sexual abuse.
The National Probation Service currently has administrative offices at Parc Menai near Bangor.
But the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) applied for planning permission from Gwynedd Council to relocate its 45 workers to a site opposite Caernarfon’s Crown and Magistrates Courts.
The MOJ had argued it was “not appropriate” to continue to be based at Parc Menai following the opening of a nearby contact centre for victims of sexual abuse and the move was “urgent”.
The planning application, which was approved without the need for it to go in front of the authority’s planning committee, represents a change of use from what was formerly a court building before planning was approved in August 2019 for its conversion to a children’s play centre.
The move was welcomed by Caernarfon Town Council, with members feeling that it would return the building to its intended office use while also bringing jobs and services into the town.
The officers’ report said that it would be used for meetings and interviews with young offenders as well as for administrative use.
The supporting planning documents said: “The National Probation Service (NPS) supervise service users living in the community, many of which have been released into the community following a prison sentence.
“The aim is to protect the public from the risks posed by service users, support victims of crime, reduce re-offending and help build safer communities.
“NPS have been required to relocate the service following the opening of a Contact Centre in Bangor for victims of sexual abuse.
“It was not considered appropriate for the two sites to be located within close proximity to each other given the service users that will attend each site.
“As such there is an urgent need for NPS to relocate.”