Manchester city council has contacted the Government to call for Strangeways prison to be closed and relocated out of Manchester, we can exclusively reveal today.
The council argues the prison - HMP Manchester - is 'coming to the end of its natural lifespan' and is not suitable for the 'significant remodelling and expansion' needed to bring it up to modern-day standards.
The move, which has seen the council write to the Ministry of Justice to state its position and call for discussions to be formerly opened, forms part of a masterplan to transform the area around Strangeways - which is currently the target of an intensive policing operation.
