Residents' appeal against 'super prison' plan fails

The new prison will be the third in the area

A high court judge has refused to allow campaigners to appeal against the development of a "super prison" near their homes.

The Ulnes Walton Action Group opposed the building of the 1,715-inmate Category C prison in Ulnes Walton, on a site between Chorley and Leyland in Lancashire.

But their four-year battle to block the project ended with the judge delivering an oral verdict which has yet to be published in full.

Campaigners said their efforts had ended in "frustration and disappointment".

The new jail, which will sit alongside neighbouring jails HMP Garth and HMP Wymott, will mean a combined total of 3,700 prisoners will reside in the area, outnumbering the population of Ulnes Walton.

One of the campaigners, Paul Parker, said: "There was a better alternative which the Ministry of Justice could have chosen alongside an industrial estate in Oldham."

Campaigners have been opposed to the plans for years

He added: "We are naturally disappointed as a group but I'm sure local residents will be devastated over the next few years with the construction traffic followed by operational traffic which everyone agrees is not sufficient."

South Ribble MP Paul Foster told Local Democracy Reporting Service he was also disappointed and there remained "a number of substantial issues" in connection with the roads.

"There are now no further legal challenges permitted and so it is my job – along with the local planning authority – to work closely with the MoJ to ensure the outstanding issues are resolved and we make the best of a bad situation," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and local government secretary Angela Rayner gave the green light to the prison back in December.

The move went against the recommendation of a planning inspector, who had chaired two public inquiries into the proposal.

The inspector had concluded local roads would not be able to cope with the volume of construction traffic required to build the jail.