Group hopes to raise £20k to fight prison plan
BID TO GET SPECIALIST LEGAL ADVICE FOR APPEAL HEARING
CAMPAIGNERS fighting plans to build a super-prison have launched an appeal for cash to pay for legal representation.
Gartree Action Group is raising the money as the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) prepares an appeal after its plan for a 1,700-capacity prison was rejected by the planning authority.
Harborough district councillors unanimously rejected the application to build the facility next to the existing HMP Gartree, in April.
The MoJ appealed the following month.
The action group launched a fund-raiser to help Lubenham Parish Council hire a barrister for the appeal. It is hoping to raise £20,000.
The group said: “This is a complex case and we need the help of a barrister and other specialist planning consultants to help us to protect our communities from this huge development that will bring additional large amounts of traffic to the area.”
One donor praised the campaigners for the “amazing job” they are doing to protect the area and its people.
He said: “It’s not just about the MoJ ramming their view of the world on ordinary people by appealing the refusal, democracy is precious and can only survive if people like you keep fighting for our rights.
“Thanks for all the time and energy you have put into this.”
Diana Cook, chairman of Lubenham Parish Council and member of the Gartree Action Group, has said: “We’ll continue to fight and stand up for what we believe is right – the local plan and the neighbourhood plan and the fact that it’s the wrong plan for a prison.”
Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has also opposed the decision to appeal, saying it is “not a suitable location” for such a prison.
He has encouraged people to donate if they can.
The deadline for people to submit comments to the Planning Inspectorate was Monday.
The hearing will take place in October.