Stafford Prison applies for new staircases
Stafford Prison bosses have applied for planning permission for three new staircases at the jail.
The external staircases will be used by maintenance workers and provide safe access for emergency service in the event of an accident, a document submitted to Stafford Borough Council said.
The current prison dates back to the 1790s and is Grade II Listed. But the proposed stairwells are not located on any listed buildings within the Gaol Road site, a planning statement said.
It added: “The purpose of this application is to provide safe access for maintenance operatives to the service risers to the shower rooms within A, B and C wing. The proposed stairwells are within the exercise yards to the respective wings and are screened from incoming views on all four sides.
“The local planning authority has approved a number of modern developments within the internal courtyard and allowed a number of alterations to the listed buildings within the prison. The proposed structures will not have any interference to any areas (or) buildings considered to be of special architectural character.
“Currently access to the upper levels of the service riser is by means of a fixed ladder, which makes access to the upper areas with tools and materials very difficult and does not allow the operatives to maintain three points of contact at all times. Consequently, accessing these areas poses a health and safety risk to the maintenance operatives.
“In a recent inspection by the HMP Safety Officer they recommended that a fixed staircase be installed due to the difficult access and egress and the inability to rescue operatives in the event of an accident. Access to these risers is essential to the future running of the prison.”
The jail is a closed prison for sex offenders and has an operational capacity for 741 inmates.
In 2017 concern was raised about the suitability of the prison’s accommodation. But the prison’s care of older prisoners and those with disabilities or chronic health conditions was praised in a report by the Independent Monitoring Board, a local group of volunteers who act as ‘eyes and ears’ for the Ministry of Justice.
By Kerry Ashdown
Local Democracy Reporter.
