Super-prison scheme lodged

Proposals to build a "super-prison" near Wolverhampton have been lodged with council planners. And residents will have to wait 16 weeks for a decision from South Staffordshire District Council.

That is twice as long as normal for a decision and is due to the size and importance of the application. It could be delayed further because the deadline would fall around Christmas. Permission is being sought to house 1,620 prisoners on 32 acres of land off New Road, Featherstone.

The scheme includes an accommodation block, sports facilities and car parking.

The Ministry of Justice wants to plough millions into building the new jail next to the existing Featherstone Prison and Brinsford young offenders institution.

The plan also includes three four-storey, X-shaped cellblocks, education and training units, medical blocks and a kitchen.

If given the go-ahead, it would have 1,200 members of staff, and officials claim its economic benefit to the community would be more than £12 million a year.

Construction work on the Category B facility would start next July, with the site open in 2012. The proposed site covers a former Royal Ordnance factory, and there would be a 17ft security fence around the perimeter.

The Ministry of Justice wants to build the jail to cope with the country's prison population, which currently stands at 83,518 with a capacity of 83,600.

District councillor Bob Cope said: "The document is very thick, and the council is having difficulty getting it to councillors, so it will be at least Monday before I can have a copy to go through in depth. Because of the size of the project, it will be 16 weeks before a decision is made, rather than the usual six to eight weeks.

"The traffic remains the main concern for people in Featherstone and for our colleagues in Bushbury across the Wolverhampton border. A parish council meeting will be called soon, and as soon as we have been through it, we will call a public meeting."

The Ministry of Justice unveiled details of its plans at a public event in Featherstone earlier this year. But revelations about the proposed facilities angered residents, who claimed it would have better leisure provision than the village itself.