Super jails would cause ‘irreversible damage’ to villages

Residents step up campaign to block giant prisons for 3,400 offenders

WITH its duck pond, humpback bridge, windmill and tea rooms, Finchingfield has been described as the mostphotographed village in England. But soon, visitors may find a drastically different attraction: the biggest prison complex in the country.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is consulting on plans to build two “mega” jails, on a former RAF base between Finchingfield and Wethersfield in Essex, which would hold 3,430 male prisoners.

Residents have stepped up a campaign to block construction of the facility, saying it would more than double the population of the area, increase road congestion, jeopardise local heritage, threaten wildlife and risk an environmental catastrophe.

Finchingfield is a popular visitor attraction, best known as a setting for the BBC TV detective series Lovejoy. Wethersfield has more than 100 listed buildings, including the church of St Mary Magdalene, which dates back to at least the 12th century.

“It’s almost like the worst place you could find a prison,” said Andrew Hull, chairman of the Wethersfield Airfield Scrutiny Committee (WASC), one of two organisations attempting to block the plans.

The MoJ has claimed that the 800-acre site, currently occupied by the Ministry of Defence Police, would be an “appropriate” location for Category B and Category C prisons as part of its programme to provide an extra 20,000 places in custody by the middle of this decade.

Category B jails take prisoners directly from court and deliver training to all but the highest-risk. Category C jails aim to help inmates prepare for release, with some allowed out temporarily.

In a public consultation document, the MoJ said each prison at the base would contain seven four-storey house blocks, with industrial workshops, sports pitches, a gymnasium, kennels for guard dogs and parking spaces for 1,000 cars on the site.

The complex would provide “long-lasting” benefits to the community, including around 1,400 jobs, the paper says, although the two nearest existing prisons, Chelmsford and Highpoint, both 17 miles away, already struggle to attract and retain staff.

Recruitment is just one of a series of problems identified by WASC, which comprises representatives from 13 parish councils, and fellow campaign group Stop Wethersfield Airfield Prison. They have assembled a team of specialists including two lawyers, a retired head of town planning, an environmental lobbyist and the boss of a compulsory purchase firm who advises on major infrastructure projects.

Transport is a key concern. The nearest rail station, Braintree, nine miles away, is on a branch line with infrequent services. Buses are described as “unreliable” and prison vans and suppliers would have to negotiate a network of winding lanes and B roads to get to the location.

“Every route to the airbase has permanent pinch points, ancient houses, old walls

‘It’s almost like the worst place that you could find a prison’

built right up to the road and a number of old single-lane bridges,” according to a report for WASC by Richard Sidebottom, a former World Bank consultant on social economics who moved to Wethersfield 21 years ago.

He writes that the MoJ’s proposal would cause “irreversible damage” to community cohesion and the natural environment, as the airfield contains a wildlife site and parts of the land may be contaminated by chemicals.

The groups deny being “Nimbys” and proposed alternative uses for the site, including affordable housing. “It’s about inappropriate development,” said resident Juliet O’Brien. “We can do something a lot better here.”

They have raised concerns with local MP James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, and members of Conservativecontrolled Braintree district council. They are also prepared to take legal action.

An MoJ spokesman said: “We will continue to consult and update [residents] as our building plans develop.”