Emergency vote on Ashfield changes
Councillors call emergency vote on adult sex offender prison plans
An emergency vote will be held this week by South Gloucestershire Councillors on plans to convert Pucklechurch’s Ashfield Young Offenders Institution into an adult sex offenders prison.
Boyd Valley councillors Steve Reade and Ben Stokes, who represent Pucklechurch, have tabled an emergency motion at a meeting of all councillors on Wednesday 20th March.
Commenting on the planned vote, Cllrs Reade and Stokes said:
“This is an opportunity for South Gloucestershire Council to show that it’s on the side of local people and to do what it can to apply pressure onto the National Offender Management Service to listen to the concerns and anxieties of both residents and the council.
Events are moving very quickly with the National Offender Management Service already in negotiations Serco Group plc, the contractors who manage and operate the establishment, about the change of use. This means we have a small window of opportunity to try and influence things.
The Ashfield facility is an important local employer and so we want the Coalition Government to revisit their plans and make changes that are acceptable to the local community.”