Campaigners step up their battle to stop a new £300 million 'superjail' being built near Harborough

Campaigners are stepping up their battle to stop a new £300 million “superjail” being built near Market Harborough.

The Gartree Action Group believes the controversial 1,700-inmate male prison would have an impact on the entire surrounding area if it goes ahead at Gartree.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) blueprint is set to go before Harborough District Council’s planning committee on Tuesday April 5.

The huge Government initiative has sparked a firestorm of criticism from outraged local people and parish councils.

Prison chiefs also want to expand and extend the existing high-security jail at Gartree to hold another 250 prisoners.

But activists insist that the planned “superjail” drives a horse and carriage through Local Development Plans while targeting a totally “unsustainable site”.

“The lack of such public transport links impacts particularly badly on the families of the inmates who have to travel miles to visit in addition to the already recognised need for staff to travel by private vehicles and the increase in daily deliveries to the site,” said Gartree Action Group.

“The ‘super’ prison would cover greenfield land currently used for agriculture.

“And the scheme goes against elements of the National Planning Policy Framework, the Harborough District Council Local Plan Policies and Neighbourhood Plans.

“Added to this, the 1,700 new inmates would be using many of our already overstretched local specialist NHS healthcare facilities and any economic benefit to the Market Harborough area would be negligible with contractors coming from afar.”

The MoJ is proposing to install cycle lanes for 800 new staff to bike to work.

“This is nonsense and is merely a box-ticking exercise for the MoJ.

“It will not help one bit with congestion on the rural roads that approach Gartree.

“It is worth noting that along the A40 from Witney into Oxford the local council spent huge sums of money installing cycle lanes to encourage people to cycle more and free up the congestion along the roads,” said Gartree Action Group.

“The cycle lanes are rarely used proving that it was a huge waste of taxpayers’ money and has not achieved the goal of easing congestion.”

Protesters also argue the new jail would increase traffic pollution and make “poor air quality along the A6 going through Kibworth” even worse.

The prison project is being fiercely fought by parish councils at Great Bowden, Lubenham, Foxton and Gumley as well as leading Harborough district councillors like Phil Knowles.

If you would like to object to the proposal, APPLICATION 21/01600/OUT, visit: https://pa2.harborough.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=makeComment&keyVal=QYT0SHHW0MS00You can also object by writing to Planning Dept Harborough District Council, Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough LE16 7AG or by emailing [email protected]

To find out more visit Gartree Action Group’s website here: https://gartreeaction.weebly.comThe MoJ says that the proposed new green eco jail would create up to 700 jobs and plough about £75 million into the local economy if it gets off the ground.

An MoJ spokeswoman told the Harborough Mail last month: “We are continuing to work closely with people in Market Harborough and the surrounding area on our proposed plans which will create hundreds of jobs and bolster the local economy.

“We have already made a number of changes to minimise the impact on roads and protect wildlife on site and will hold a number of community drop-ins over the coming weeks so we can continue these important conversations with members of the public.”