HMP Gartree: Decision over new prison delayed again

The Ministry of Justice said the prison was needed to deal with a rise in inmates

The decision over a controversial new 1,700 capacity prison in Leicestershire has been pushed back.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the facility, close to the existing HMP Gartree, near Lubenham, was needed to cope with increasing inmate numbers.

Harborough District Council unanimously rejected the application in April 2022.

The MoJ appealed and evidence has been passed to minister Michael Gove but an April deadline slipped to September and now officials say it will be November.

After the appeal was lodged in October, the Planning Inspectorate, the government body tasked with ruling on planning disagreements, held a series of hearings.

Mr Gove, secretary of state for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was then given this evidence.

A series postponements followed, with the last delay pushing the decision back to 4 September - but this has now be deemed unachievable as well, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Opposition has focused on the amount of traffic the prison would generate

A letter sent to the various interested parties on Mr Gove's behalf said: "Further time is required to consider this case, and unfortunately it will not be possible to reach a decision on this appeal by 4 September.

"The secretary of state hereby gives notice that he has varied the timetable previously set and he will now issue his decision on or before Wednesday, 8 November. We aim to issue the decision as quickly as possible."

One of the points of dispute has been the flow of visitors and staff to the new prison.

Residents had said nearby roads could not cope, with the MoJ claiming public transport would mitigate any rise in traffic.

However, local bus routes have been under review due to low passenger numbers and rising costs.

Responding to the latest delay, Neil O'Brien, the Conservative MP for Harborough, said: "While we all want this resolved, I guess the positive aspect of all this is that they are going through all the evidence we provided properly, and we have at the very least prevented this from being rammed through on the quick."