Old tip could become prison site

FACTFILE - MERTHYR LOCATION: Goat Mill Road, Whitelands, Merthyr, Heads of the Valleys SITE: Ex-landfill, 29 acres, near housing estate PROPOSAL: Prison for up to 900 inmates SITE OWNERS: Merthyr Council; proposal submitted by Welsh Assembly Government ARGUMENTS FOR: Already has access and good road links, as well as local courts AGAINST: Already three prisons at Cardiff, Bridgend and Swansea within 35 mile radius Mixed reaction to jail proposals

A former tip for spent ironworks lime slag in Merthyr Tydfil is one of four locations earmarked as a possible site for a new jail for Wales.

The Whitelands site on Goat Mill Road near Dowlais Industrial Estate covers an area of 29 acres.

It is near a variety of homes including traditional terraces, bungalows and new-build housing estates.

It is also close to the controversial Ffos-y-fran opencast mining site, which has prompted strong local opposition.

The site is owned by Merthyr Tydfil council, which has not yet made any comment on the choice of Merthyr as a possible location for a jail, and was proposed by the Welsh Assembly Government.

The three other potential places for a new prison are Cwmbran, Wrexham and Caernarfon.

Sidney Morgan and Paul Ryan are concerned many children live nearby

One of the reasons the site was identified, according to HM Prison Service, is the fact it already has direct road access and is on a good A-road link to the M4 corridor.

It would be able to accommodate a secure jail housing around 900 prisoners. At present, HMPS estimates there is a shortfall of 1,300 places in Wales, including 500 in south Wales.

Merthyr is also the site of a crown and magistrates' court.

One in three people in the Heads of the Valleys area of working age do not have employment, and providing jobs for the region is one of the supposed benefits of locating a prison there.

However, Sidney Morgan, 71, who lives in Darren View, Penydarren, could not think why the site was picked and was sceptical about what jobs exactly would be brought to the area once the construction had finished.

A new Welsh-medium school is opening in September near Whitefields

He was also concerned about the possibility of prisoners escaping, and mentioned the number of schools in the area as a reason not to place it there.

"There's a new Welsh school opening in September just by the site," he said.

"If it's a closed prison, put them up a mountain or a clifftop. They get it better than the OAPs, three meals a day, colour television."

Margaret and Paul Ryan, from nearby Vernon Close, Penyard, were vehement in their opposition to a prison.

"It will devalue all the houses," said Mrs Ryan. "We have already got the slaughterhouse up by Asda, we have got the work going on at Ffos-y-Fran.

"Down here, although Merthyr's got a bad name, we have never had any trouble - in 40 years, we've had a car stolen once.

"There's a lot of children here and there is a school nearby."

Jennifer Richards is not against a 'very secure' prison being opened

Ms Ryan did not believe the jobs which may come with the development would be "of any importance".

"They say nobody works here but I've got three daughters who have worked from the age of 15. There's plenty of work around the area," she said.

Her husband, a semi-retired quality control engineer, added: "I believe we've taken enough knocks in Merthyr already."

Just a few streets away Jennifer Richards, 57, of Mansfield Terrace, Mountain Hare, was more sanguine about the proposal.

"As long as it is secure, we have got to have prisons somewhere, if it gets the yobs off the streets.

"Cardiff has got one in a built-up area. Swansea's Oystermouth Road [where the prison is sited] is a built-up area. How really can you oppose it when you take that into account?"

She said as well as Merthyr having a crown and magistrates' court, the site was on a main road into Cardiff and Swansea.

"It's the same as people don't want a landfill by their houses - nobody wants it but somebody has got to have it by them."

However she added: "At the moment, it's a quiet area and I'd like it to remain that way if possible."