Protest at unit for ill criminals

A group is planning another protest on 15 June

Hundreds of people have held a protest against plans to build a unit in Birmingham for mentally ill prisoners.

The facility in Bordesley Green, said to be medium secure, would house up to 85 men who are too ill to be in jail.

The Safer Communities Group said it would fight the plan to the end and would hold further protests.

The Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust said the derelict site was the only place available and the scheme would help in regeneration.

It presents the opportunity to regenerate a derelict site Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Trust

Mentally-ill men from a 200 mile (321.87km) radius could be living at the site.

The trust said the development was approved in February 2006 with the commitment to ensuring "ongoing engagement with local residents".

It said local people had already had an impact in shaping the site.

The trust added: "Due to a lack of suitable sites with enough land to locate the development, the single option proposed in the consultation was to use a derelict site in Bordesley Green, Birmingham.

"It also presents the opportunity to regenerate a derelict site, offering a much improved environment and bringing additional jobs and training opportunities into the local area."

Rahila Sarwar, from the Safer Communities Group, said it was determined to resist and was going to organise another protest for 15 June.

She said: "We're going to find whichever avenue we can to do this because we are local residents. We are mums.

"We are people that are going to be affected by this."