Written evidence from Gregory Campbell
MP
The first issue is the land availability question.
There appears to be sufficient land in the Prison Estate's ownership
at Magilligan to build a new purpose built Prison. This would
not be the case in any site at Antrim/Ballymena. This could raise
considerable cost differentials but in addition any Antrim/Ballymena
site would almost certainly lead to significant neighbourhood
objections in connection with any new Prison site usage and prolonged
planning appeal delays. None of this would be applicable to a
rebuild project at Magilligan, and the present buildings are urgently
in need of replacement.
The Prison generates approximately £13
million into the local economy and while this would not be a direct
consideration for any Prisons Report by the Committee it does
have a bearing on the significantly lower socio-economic profile
of the population on the North Coast compared to the Antrim/Ballymena
area. Any move to Antrim/Ballymena would generate additional costs
in relation to assisted travel for staff over a three year period
following the move, this would not be the case for Magilligan.
Any move to Antrim/Ballymena would mean that
all three locations for holding offenders from all of Northern
Ireland would be within a 25 mile radius of Greater Belfast. This
would then mean that those offenders whose residence is in an
area where 300,000 people live in the North West of Northern Ireland
would have no Prison within their catchment area.
The Prison Service has a workforce which is
predominantly Protestant, while the reasons for this had much
to do with a terror campaign over 30 years it will undoubtedly
come under pressure now that the violence hopefully is past, to
recruit from the community in a manner that will produce a more
balanced workforce. The Limavady Council area is 56% Roman Catholic,
while Ballymena and Antrim Council areas are 21% and 38% Roman
Catholic respectively. Assuming a recruitment policy based on
merit, then those appointed would be in close approximation to
the numbers in the local community. This would inevitably mean
that a Magilligan site (with its more mixed local population)
offers a much better prospect of progressively achieving a more
balanced workforce than either of the other two sites.
The excellent work being done by a number of
prisoners in the local community (through Foyleview etc.) and
the growing liaison between the existing Prison and the local
Higher Education campus would be undermined by a Magilligan closure
while conversely a new build on site would offer the opportunity
to enhance further the present work being done in these areas.
Gregory Campbell MP
July 2007
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