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A public inquiry into controversial plans for a new prison on the border of Chorley and Leyland will be reopened to consider new evidence about whether local roads could cope with the development.

A hearing into the proposed 1,700-inmate jail - on land next to the existing Wymott and Garth lock-ups - was first held last summer after the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) appealed against Chorley Council’s refusal of planning permission for the facility.

As the Lancashire Post revealed shortly after the proceedings closed, the government decided to take the unusual step of ’recovering’ the appeal - meaning that the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, would get the final say over the proposal and not the planning inspector who chaired the inquiry.

It was announced in January that Mr. Gove was “minded” to approve the prison plan - in spite of inspector Tom Gilbert-Wooldridge having recommended that it be rejected over road safety concerns and its “harmful” impact on the character and appearance of the area. However, the Secretary of State said that he wanted to hear “further evidence on highways issues” before coming to a final conclusion.

A planning inspector was not convinced that installing a mini-roundabout at the junction of Southport Road and Ulnes Walton Lane would be enough to offset an increase in prison traffic (image: Google)

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The move infuriated locals opposed to the development of a third prison in their midst, with the Ulnes Walton Action Group (UWAG) blasting the request for additional information as “beyond unfair” and amounting to a further “crack of the whip” for the MoJ which, its members claimed, would not have been afforded to residents if the inspector's recommendation had gone in the government’s favour.

Following representations both by UWAG and Chorley Council, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has now revealed that the inquiry will be reconvened so that the new highways evidence submitted by the MoJ can be “properly tested”. The decision will also give campaigners the opportunity to present their own fresh material on the subject.

UWAG’s Emma Curtis said that while the group would have preferred Michael Gove simply to accept the inspector’s recommendation to refuse the appeal, reopening the inquiry was “the only fair way” forward.

The new prison, if it goes ahead, would sit alongside the existing Garth and Wymott jails in the village of Ulnes Walton

“Highway safety issues are a major concern for the local community and formed a major part of UWAG’s objection to the proposed development - particularly as it was able to demonstrate [that] there are two alternative sites available in the North West which are as good as, if not better than, Ulnes Walton in terms of accessibility and highway safety.

“The highway safety concern was shared by the independent planning inspector, who cited it as one of the reasons for recommending to the Secretary of State that the appeal be dismissed. The reopening of the inquiry will also provide the opportunity for a thorough examination and testing of the mitigation measures now being put forward by the Ministry of Justice.

“UWAG also expressed concern - again shared by the planning inspector - that the urgent need for these additional prison places had not been adequately demonstrated by the MoJ,” Emma added.

A message on the group’s Facebook page confidently declares: “We can win this.”

'Super prison' planned between Chorley and Leyland to go back under the microscope over road safety fears