Council chiefs slam Titan prison

THE leadership of Warrington Borough Council has reaffirmed its total opposition to the building of a US-style Titan prison on Omega – the town’s flagship development site.
In a joint statement, leader and deputy leader, Ian Marks (right) and Keith Bland, (below, left) stress that the council is strongly opposed to a Titan prison anywhere in Warrington.
Their statement comes ahead of next Monday’s meeting of the full council when the issue is to be debated.
The meeting has been switched from the Town Hall to the Parr Hall to accommodate the anticipated large number of people wanting to attend.
Coun Marks and Coun Bland say: “We fully recognise and understand the very real concerns of many local people living in the area about the possibility of this prison.
“However we have to remind people that no proposal for such a prison has yet been put forward by the Labour government.
“No discussions have taken place between the council and the Ministry of Justice on this. All the council knows of the possibility is when it was mentioned by the developer at a regular meeting alongside a range of other companies which had expressed interest in locating at Omega.
“We want to emphasise that Warrington Council is strongly opposed to a Titan prison anywhere in the town. We share the views of a large number of experts that such massive prison warehouses are not the way of dealing with criminals.
“Warrington has more than its fair share of prisons and another one is emphatically not required.
“A Titan prison on Omega would have an adverse effect on the attraction of the site to other businesses and would detract from the development of Omega by the high quality firms we wish to see moving there. Our views have been made very plain to the developers.”
A Town Hall spokesman has stressed that although Monday’s council meeting is at the Parr Hall and members of the public are welcome to attend, it is not a public meeting and members of the public will have no right to speak.