Sssshhh … you can't build an incinerator next to my jail, it'll ruin prisoners' sleep

Published on Friday 24 July 2009 22:10

THERE can be few places more familiar with antisocial behaviour than prison.

But for some of Scotland's biggest troublemakers, the tables are being turned.

The governor of HMP Perth is unhappy because a proposed incinerator next to the jail might keep inmates awake at night.

Kate Donegan says the sounds and smells from the waste-to-energy plant would disrupt prisoners and could spark riots.

She also claims the incinerator, planned for a scrap yard next to the jail, would compromise security by providing inmates with a potential escape route.

In a letter to city planners, she voices "serious security concerns" after learning a ramp leading to the incinerator would be the same height as the perimeter wall beside the jail's 150-year-old C Hall. The building houses more than 360 prisoners – including murderers, rapists and drug pushers.

The ramp could also become an entry point for contraband such as drugs, weapons and mobile phones, she claims.

In her letter to planning officials at Perth and Kinross Council, Ms Donegan says she believes the impact on the prison's security is "high risk". Ms Donegan points out that, at its narrowest point, the incinerator would sit only 40 metres from the jail.

"The ramp up which the lorries will transport their waste to the plant is only some 25 metres from the prison's perimeter wall. Additionally, the lorries' wheels will be at approximately the same height as the perimeter wall. The ramp provides an excellent vantage point in terms of potential planning for assisted escape or for members of the public trying to see and/or attempting to contact prisoners."

The governor admits her objections to the planning application are "probably unique".

"That said, the impact of noise and odours cannot be underestimated and would represent a potentially serious operational risk," she adds.

But last night Ms Donegan's concerns about prisoners being kept awake received short-shrift from one senior MSP.

Bill Aitken, Tory justice spokesman, said he was "not particularly sympathetic" to what he claimed was a "spurious argument". "If it's a question of the prisoners suffering some loss of amenity or the same thing happening if the development is transferred to a residential area where decent people are living, then the prisoners will just have to put up with it," he said.

However, Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, says the governor's complaints "blows the whole case of the incinerator out of the water".

"There is no way that it can proceed if the governor and the Scottish Prison Service feel that staff or the people of Perth may be put at greater risk.

"Prisons have difficulties enough in preventing prohibited items from reaching and leaving their gates while developing a disciplined, safe and secure environment," he said.

The company behind the scheme, Grundon Waste Management, say the incinerator was an innovative project which would provide sustainable power and heat for the city – including the prison.

The company said:

"We would be happy to discuss directly with the prison governor any additional security measures she might think appropriate."