Gartree 'super prison' - Harborough council makes decision on challenge to Government's approval

Harborough District Council has said it will not challenge a controversial decision by the Government to approve a 1,700 place prison in a Leicestershire village.

The council refused in April planning permission for the “super prison” to be built next to the existing HMP Gartree prison in the Leicestershire countryside.

But the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), whose development bid it was, appealed and the case was sent to the planning inspectorate – a Government body which oversees planning disputes – for examination. The final decision, however, was taken by Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove who green lit the project.

The decision flew in the face of the advice from the Government’s own planning inspector who was overseeing the appeal. She concluded that the original decision by the district council was the right one, and the harm of the scheme was not outweighed by the benefits. Mr Gove felt the “material considerations in this case” – the balance of both the positives and negatives of the scheme – “indicate that permission should be granted”.

Now, Harborough District Council has said it will not be challenging that approval. The authority said it had considered a report, which included legal advice from a King’s Counsel – a high level solicitor or barrister – and members voted in a private session this week to not fund a bid to overturn the decision.

Councillors were asked to consider the potential grounds on which the council may seek to challenge the Secretary of State’s decision, the authority said, along with the prospects of such a challenge being successful. It said it had been advised there were no legal grounds for a challenge and money should not be allocated to commence one.

A council spokesperson said: “Harborough District Council wanted to fully explore the option of a legal challenge and funded advice from King’s Counsel (KC) on the matter. Unfortunately, KC advised that no grounds for a challenge have been identified.

“The council’s Chief Finance Officer also advised that allocation of funding for this legal challenge would not meet the fiduciary duties of the council. The council recognises that the decision not to allocate funding for a legal challenge was a difficult one and there is a lot of concern about the new prison in the community. It is disappointing that the council’s decision to refuse planning permission was overturned, but we also recognise that there is no reasonable chance of being successful in a legal challenge.”

Leader of the district council Phil Knowles previously said the news was “deeply disappointing”. He added: “The community have real and justified fears for the infrastructure’s ability to cope.

“Those who have held the position of Secretary of State throughout this consideration have declined my personal invitations to come here and see just how unsuitable this site is. I still maintain my view that this is the wrong place to build this.

“The government are intent on pushing this through – they will need to provide huge investment into the community and the infrastructure to help offset some of the negative impact on our community. I will be pushing for an early meeting to discuss this.”