Chorley WILL get third prison after final legal bid fails

'It's going to be chaos,' say residents

- by Paul Faulkner

Residents of a Chorley village have been told a third prison will definitely be built nearby after a last-ditch legal challenge to the plans failed.

The four-year battle to block construction of a 1,715-inmate jail in Ulnes Walton ended at the High Court on Monday with a judge's decision not to grant locals leave to appeal against the controversial development.

The category C 'super prison' will now spring up on land alongside the existing Garth and Wymott lock-ups, near Leyland.

It means the combined jail population in the area will reach more than 3,700 - exceeding the number of people living in the village itself by around 1,000.

The Ulnes Walton Action Group (UWAG), which led the attempt to derail the prison plans, said "local democracy has been the loser".

South Ribble MP Paul Foster, in whose constituency the new jail will stand, said he was "hugely disappointed" by the High Court decision.

The resettlement facility - which will house men nearing the end of their sentences - was first put on the table by the previous Conservative government before also being pursued by the new Labour administration in an effort to bolster the country's dwindling prison capacity.

Deputy Prime Minister and local government secretary Angela Rayner gave the green light to the prison back in December.