Corby Council registers interest in building prison

Data released by the Ministry of Justice following a Freedom of Information request revealed the authorities which submitted plans regarding suitable land.

It is not known where the prison could be placed, and a Corby Council spokesman said no further discussions have taken place since the submission.

The spokesman said: “The council received an inquiry from the prison estate transformation team early last year, and we registered our interest in being considered.

“No further discussions or inquiries have been received by the council since.”

Wellingborough Council and Northants County Council were also on the list, with the Government since revealing that a new category C prison will be built on the site of the mothballed Wellingborough Prison.

David Scott, a researcher who has looked into prisons for 20 years and published eight books on the subject, says more should be done to reduce the prison population rather than building more.

He said: “Given the historic failings of the prison to meet its rehabilitation goals and the current tightening of government budgets, when it comes to dealing with overcrowded prisons the most sensible and rational approach is to reduce the prison population.

“We should not be spending taxpayers’ money on new super-sized prisons but rather reinvest the proposed money to help ordinary people in the community and ensure that all people have access to decent health care, welfare provision and education.”