Super-prison built a storey too high

Part of a controversial new Midland super-prison has been built a storey higher than it has permission for.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now been forced to submit a revised planning application to South Staffordshire District Council after the extra height was spotted by residents.

The Category B jail for 1,620 inmates is being created next to the existing Featherstone Prison and Brinsford Young Offenders Institution near Wolverhampton.

The problem concerns a linked building that will house a visitor centre.

It has planning consent to be a maximum of 33ft but is currently moving towards being 41ft, which the MoJ now wants permission for.

Resident Barry Pickering, who lives in Oaks Drive, said: "They started putting the steel frame up about three weeks ago. It is only very recently that we noticed the building was too high.

"There were no negotiations about the new height. We will object because the building wasn't supposed to be this high."

The prison plans were approved in January 2009 and backed by the Government Office for the West Midlands, despite more than 400 objections to the council.

Seventeen buildings will be created over a 46-acre site along with three main accommodation blocks.

The new jail, off New Road, will create around 1,200 jobs and open in 2012.

South Staffordshire Council spokeswoman Jamie Angus confirmed the MoJ had been ordered to stop work on the disputed building until a ruling is made.

He said: "The applicants submitted plans to make minor changes to the plans that were approved by the council last year.

"When dealing with this new application, we found that work had begun on this building based on the proposed plans, not the approved ones."

MoJ spokeswoman Katherine Hyde said: "No further work will be undertaken on this unless and until the planning application is approved."