Braintree mega prison plan branded 'gross misallocation of taxpayers’ money'

The mega prison is set to house 3,430 people at the former cold war air base to the north of Braintree.

The campaign group fighting proposals for two mega prisons at a former RAF base in rural Essex says the Ministry of Justice needs to reflect on evidence that describes the plans as a 'gross misallocation of taxpayers’ money'. Two huge prisons holding more than 3,400 inmates could be built on land near the former Wethersfield RAF base, if government plans are carried out.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published proposals for the new mega prisons, set to house 3,430 people, at the former cold war air base to the north of Braintree. The site will hold category B and category C adult male prisoners in two prisons that each have a total capacity of 1,715, according to documents setting out the plans.

But Dr Richard Sidebottom and Frank Easton who carried out research for Stop Wethersfield Airfield Prisons have indicated in their report “People, Place and Performance: Are rural Mega prisons in the national interest?” that large, rural prisons bring numerous issues. These include problems with prisons of more than 1,000 inmates that they say have below average performance scores.

The report adds that prisoners held some distance from home and in a remote and rural location, create significant performance issues. Inaccessibility is a major impediment to the rehabilitative purpose of several rural prisons and there is evidence that contact with families is a proven factor in reducing reoffending, the report adds.

The proposed prisons site at RAF Wethersfield overlaps a catchment area for employees with Highpoint, near Haverhill and Chelmsford as well as Wayland in Thetford and Littlehey in Huntingdon. Retention of employment of prison officers is already a major problem for the prisons service, they add.

The report concludes: “From the evidence used in our report, the case that the construction of Mega prisons is in the national interest is unproven particularly in rural areas. To invest hundreds of millions without unequivocal evidence would appear to be a gross misallocation of taxpayers’ money."

A SWAP spokesperson said, "We call on the Ministry of Justice to rethink its proposals. The national interest benefit of constructing mega prisons is unproven, particularly in inaccessible rural areas. To invest hundreds of millions without unequivocal evidence would appear to be a gross misallocation of taxpayers’ money, particularly given the precious habitats and rare species at risk from the proposals at Wethersfield."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have not made a decision regarding submitting a planning application for RAF Wethersfield as a new prison. We will continue to inform and consult local residents on any future plans for the site."