FEARS that there could be a Government plan to build a prison at Coate have been fuelled by Home Office action.

Her Majesty's Prison Service an arm of the Home Office has objected to the final draft of the Swindon Local Plan, which determines the borough's future development.

The grounds of the objection are that the Local Plan "does not make provision for a prison".

Speculation is rife that the Government could have earmarked Coate for a jail, near to the Great Western Hospital and the site proposed for a 10,000-student university campus.

Swindon Council leader Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawn) even raised the possibility of a secret agenda to foist a prison on Swindon instead of a university.

"Where would we put a prison? We couldn't possibly think of one within the town centre regeneration development," he said.

"Therefore it would have to be somewhere on the fringe, which brings us back to greenfield sites.

"I did not know about the objection to the Local Plan from the prison service, but if they do have anywhere in mind in Swindon, then Coate leaps out.

"If the objection is on the grounds that no provision has been made for a prison, then I must assume we're being asked to designate a feasible location."

Jean Saunders, a campaigner in Swindon for Friends of the Earth, said that she and her supporters would be "horrified" at the prospect of a prison being built on "precious Coate or any other greenfield area".

While refusing to rule out plans for a jail on Coate, a Home Office spokeswoman said: "There are no immediate plans for a prison to be built in Swindon.

"However, the Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott) has decided that Her Majesty's Prison Service should be consulted whenever there is a major urban development in local plans so that it can have a say in prison provision. The Deputy Prime Minister wants the prison service to have a hand in the future management of expanding regions."

The nearest prisons to Swindon are at Horfield, Bristol; Leyhill, South Gloucestershire; Erlestoke, Devizes and Gloucester.

Bath University has the backing of North Swindon MP Michael Wills and Swindon Council's Conservative administration for a new campus at Coate. The university's Vice Chancellor, Prof Glynis Breakwell, was not available to comment on the bid by the prison service to have the Local Plan amended.

The original draft Local Plan was re-drawn to make land available for a Bath University campus at Coate, along with 1,800 houses.

The government has objected as it wants prison provision written in to all major developments as an option. Swindon Council can reject the objection but this would be over-ruled by John Prescott's office at a public inquiry.

Hundreds of objections have been received to the Local Plan.

Council officers are now beginning to sift through the objections and an examination of them in public is likely to be the next step, followed by the fixing of an inquiry date, said Coun Bawden.

mlitchfield@newswilts.co.uk

It is now too late for further objections to be accepted.

* The Government released figures yesterday (MON) showing that the UK's prison population had broken through the 75,000-barrier for the first time, making the need urgent for more jails.

*

"The public may have to make up its mind if there is a public inquiry whether it would prefer an establishment of convicted rapists, murderers and paedophiles or university students," said Coun Bawden.

She added: "I accept that every area of large population needs a prison, but Coate is a no-go area for any type of development.

"We're calling for a 1km buffer around the whole of Coate Water to protect all the precious wildlife and for the general well-being of Swindon people."

Michael Litchfield