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.
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As reported in the M.E.N., Manchester's infamous 'counterfeit street' - which runs adjacent to the prison along Bury New Road - could be bulldozed in a radical move to smash what police described as a national magnet for criminality. Buildings along the stretch - in which counterfeit clothing, perfume, tobacco, toys and other goods are sold - could be closed, compulsory purchased by the council then flattened.
Greater Manchester Police has launched Operation Vulcan, which saw in its latest strike on Wednesday a warehouse on Cheetham Hill Road containing an estimated one million pounds worth of counterfeit goods raided.
Designed by architect Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall, the Grade II-listed prison on Southall Street opened in June 1868 and is now more than 150 years old. The council argues Strangeways' location in the city centre is acting as a 'barrier to growth and development' and said it planned to unveil a masterplan for the area by next Spring.
The Manchester Evening News understands the exact location for any replacement, maximum security prison would be a matter for the Ministry of Justice. However, another site within the city of Manchester itself is thought to be unlikely. Sources said no suitable alternative site within Manchester has been identified.
A suitable site within the Greater Manchester region - or on its outskirts - is expected to be considered, we understand, although talks haven't progressed that far as yet.
Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said the council has, for some time, harboured a desire to move the prison, but its relocation was now being actively pursed with central Government.
She told the Manchester Evening News : "We have reiterated a long-standing call to the Ministry of Justice to relocate and close Strangeways prison and would welcome discussions around it.
"The Grade II-listed Victorian building is not suitable for the significant remodelling or expansion it would need to meet modern day requirements for a prison and is coming to the end of its natural lifespan. So it is a long-term aspiration to see it replaced elsewhere.
"At the moment its city centre location acts as a barrier to growth and development which could bring new jobs, much-needed houses and green space.
"Relocating the prison to new premises elsewhere - coupled with the heightened enforcement which is now taking place against organised crime in the area - would represent an exciting opportunity to transform the Strangeways area for the better. We are aiming to bring forward a new masterplan for the area in spring setting out the vision and opportunities."
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The opening of a new £93m campus for Manchester College on the site of the old Boddington's Brewery - which is within 200 yards of the stores selling counterfeit goods - plus a Travelodge hotel, which is even closer, have been catalysts for the police action in the area.
There are also concerns about on-street drug dealing, with Greater Manchester Police establishing 33 organised crime gangs from across the UK have links to the area.
Rebuilt following the infamous prison riot of 1990, the biggest disturbance in prison service history, Strangeways is one of the country's largest, high-security prisons for men and has capacity for almost 700 inmates, although its actual population now is thought to be far less than that.
Parts of the building itself, however, are now said to be crumbling with a rat infestation in some parts.
According to HM Inspectorate of Prisons, it's a category B training prison with 10 wings, but does hold some category A prisoners including those serving life sentences.
The Ministry of Justice said it was 'committed to working productively with local authorities whenever we consider future programmes of work'. A spokesman said: "There are no plans to close or relocate HMP Manchester. We are working closely with the Governor on plans to modernise and improve the prison."
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