£137,500 public cash spent paying bills for closed Holloway jail
THE Ministry of Justice spent more than £137,000 in just six months on utility bills for the closed Holloway Prison site, figures show.
Once the largest women’s jail in Europe, Holloway shut last summer and has been earmarked for a potential £2 billion housing development.
Since it closed, the Government has spent £22,500 on gas, £66,000 on electricity, £23,500 on water and £25,500 on waste and other utility costs. The Ministry refused to reveal spending on site security, claiming disclosure would “be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the MoJ and its suppliers”.
The Government wants to sell the site as part of its overhaul of the prison service. Property sources believe offers of £200 million could be made for the land, thought to have potential for up to 5,000 homes. But campaigners want it to be used for the community rather than turned into luxury flats.
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies obtained the figures via a Freedom of Information request. It advocates a “people’s plan” for the jail and today invited the public to give their views. Rebecca Roberts, co-ordinator of Community Plan for Holloway, said: “Rather than selling to the highest bidder the ministry could put the local community first.” A report by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies reveals high poverty and housing problems in Islington.
Author Matt Ford said: “Out of 326 local authorities in England it is the 24th most deprived and has the fourth highest rate of child poverty in the UK. The redevelopment of the Holloway site could offer a fantastic opportunity.”
The Ministry of Justice said no decision on its future had been made and heating, electricity and security was reduced to a level “necessary to maintain the fabric of the buildings and protect the sites from intruders”.