Residents fight plans for third jail near village

Ministers want to build a new prison, housing 1,715 inmates, near the Lancashire village of Ulnes Walton

Plans to build a third prison near a Lancashire village could be decided in the High Court after campaigners launched a legal bid to block the project.

People in Ulnes Walton, near Leyland, already live near HMP Wymott, where inmates include sex offenders, as well as the adjacent high security jail HMP Garth.

The Ulnes Walton Action Group (UWAG) is seeking permission to appeal against the government's decision to build a third prison, which would house about 1,715 inmates.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner last month overruled a planning inspector who chaired a public inquiry into the scheme and twice recommended that it should be refused permission.

'Overcrowding'

In her capacity as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rayner concluded safety risks posed by construction vehicles – which were considered "unacceptable" by the inspector – would be of "limited harm".

The six-week window for Rayner's decision to be contested closed this week.

UWAG said it had raised £10,000 and was going to submit an application for permission to seek a judicial review.

It is understood Rayner will have 21 days to respond and, depending on what she says, UWAG will then be given 14 days to reply.

The submissions will then go before a judge who will decide whether the application for a full High Court hearing should be accepted.

The row comes as the government announced plans to open 14,000 more prison places due to overcrowding pressures within existing jails.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned that prisons could still run out of space over the next few years.