Thursday, April 11, 2013

Denbighshire backs North Wales prison plan

Councillors in Denbighshire have supported calls by the North Wales Regional Leadership Board to have a prison built in the region.

Representatives of the Board, made up of Leaders from the six North Wales Councils, the Police and Crime Commissioner, the North Wales Police,The North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board  have lobbied the Ministry of Justice for over five years.

Their campaign was backed by Denbighshire members meeting at County Hall, Ruthin today (Tuesday).

Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader of Denbighshire County Council said: "It is great news that North Wales is on the shortlist of regions to be considered for a new prison and councillors in Denbighshire unanimously supported the proposal.

"We are excited about the potential of a prison being built in North Wales. It would involve a substantial investment in the region's economy and could create hundreds of new jobs.  We need the investment and the jobs but we also need to have a prison where the Welsh Language Act applies so that Welsh culture can be recognised in the prison system.

"We believe there is a strong argument for securing a prison in North Wales and the Regional Leadership Board will continue to lobby the Government. It is very early days, but we will continue with dialogue and await a decision on whether our region has been successful."

No comments:

Post a Comment