HC Deb 02 June 1992 vol 208 cc409-10W
Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his current intentions for the site of the former Ashford, Middlesex, remand centre.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 22 May 1992]: Our current intention is to redevelop this site by building a new prison for 600 adult males. The date on which construction would begin has yet to be determined.

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate, in connection with the decision to demolish Ashford, Middlesex, remand centre and to build a category B prison, the costs of(a) the cancellation of the building contract, (b) tidying up and seeding the site and (c) agreeing and preparing the lease granted to Spelthorne borough council in October 1991.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 22 May 1992]: The information requested is as follows:

  1. (a) no contract to build a new prison on the site at Ashford had been let when it was decided to defer the construction of the prison in November 1990 and so no costs were incurred on this score;
  2. (b) the total cost of clearing and preparing the Ashford site, including the demolition of the remand centre which formerly occupied the site, was £880,000;
  3. (c) it is not possible to quantify the cost of the time spent by officials on agreeing and preparing the lease granted to Spelthorne borough council in October 1991, because it formed only a small part of their overall duties. Other costs, including solicitors' fees, totalled £779.25.

Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate, in connection with the plans for the Ashford remand centre site, how much has now been offered to Spelthorne borough council to vary the terms of the lease, how much is being spent on seeking to renegotiate the lease and how much extra it will cost to build a new prison on this site.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

[holding answer 22 May 1992]: Spelthorne borough council was offered £20,000 including VAT, as part of proposals to vary the terms of the lease it currently holds on the site for a new prison at Ashford.

It is not possible to quantify the cost of the time being spent by officials on seeking to renegotiate the lease, because it forms only a small portion of their overall duties.

The current estimated cost of building a new prison on the site is £69 million. The actual cost will depend on when construction actually begins.