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In an appeal recovered for the Secretary of State’s determination, permission has been granted for a new prison housing around 1,700 inmates in the Green Belt in Lancashire. The decision was made by Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister of State for Housing and Planning on behalf of the Rt Hon Angela Raynor MP, contrary to the Inspector’s recommendation. This decision followed an initial public inquiry in July 2022 and a re-opened public inquiry in March and April 2024.
The Secretary of State referred to the increasing prison population and found that there is an “obvious need to update existing prison facilities and to provide the right prisons in the right locations.” She gave significant weight to the benefits of the development, particularly the benefits associated with a modern prison, and found that these “clearly outweighed” the harms, including harm to the Green Belt, highway safety harm and the lack of a sequential flood test. As such she concluded that “very special circumstances exist which justify approval, and that thus material considerations justify a decision other than in line with the development plan.”
The full decision can be found here.
Jenny Wigley KC and Anjoli Foster acted for the successful Appellant, the Ministry of Justice, throughout both inquiries.
