Campaigners celebrate after Barking prison plans dropped

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Communities

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

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."

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: "Proposals for the prison in Dagenham were solely led by the Government.

"The Secretary of State has always made it clear to the mayor that the site would be acquired by compulsory purchase if necessary.

"The London Development Agency were contacted about the use of land on the proposed Beam Park site but they have not had any other involvement in the process.

"We look forward to hearing what alternative proposals the Government has to cope with London's expanding prison population."

Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: "This is a serious setback for Labour.

"This is the second prison in just a few months to be dropped because of a failure to do basic research before announcing plans.

"Jack Straw needs to make clear how the Government can deliver its commitments on time and on budget. One thing is clear: we can't go on with this mismanagement of our prison system."

David Howarth, Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: "In the current financial climate, it is incredible that both Labour and the Tories remain wedded to a multi-billion pound expansion of the prison estate.

"Short prison sentences do not reduce reoffending or cut crime. The country can no longer afford this kind of expensive posturing.

"The priority for public spending has to be health and education, not building prisons that do not work to cut crime."