Plans to build a “game changing” woman’s custody unit in Dundee have been approved following a heated debate on Monday evening.
Councillors voted 19 to 10 in favour of allowing the unit to be built on the site of the former Our Lady’s RC primary school on the Hilltown.
Three of Coldside’s four members voted against permitting the construction of the Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) “unique” site, with Labour’s Bailie Helen Wright agreeing with the council motion to approve.
Shouts of “disgrace” and “shut up” bellowed from the public gallery, visitors in which had to be told to desist from their heckling on numerous occasions by planning committee convener Councillor Will Dawson.
At one point during the fractious debate, cries of “shut up” were aimed toward SNP Maryfield representative Councillor Ken Lynn as he explained why he was in favour of the unit.
Members heard from three deputations, two objecting to the proposals and one from Tom Fox, the SPS’ head of corporate affairs.
Mr Fox said the unit will provide a “radical” approach in combating the issue of women in custody.
Coldside community objectors and the majority of councillors who voted against its building agreed a custody unit of this nature was a positive policy, but did not believe the Hilltown was the correct place for it.
Deputation Tom Henney, who organised a petition with more than 1,300 signatures against the centre, highlighted the “over concentration” of services in the area for people battling drug addiction and criminal justice-related issues.
Following his speech, members of the public gallery applauded.
He said: “More than 1,300 people have signed a petition against building this unit in Coldside.
“We have in close proximity to where this unit is planned the Lilly Walker Centre, which is a source of trouble in the area.
“We have a high rate of drug use and crime issues, what are the benefits of building this unit to the local community?
“The SPS has come up with a great concept and the right type of building but in the wrong place, due to the problems already present in the community.
“The local feeling is that the Hilltown is (being treated) like a dumping ground.
“Would this facility not be better placed in an area not already beset by these issues?”
Coldside Labour representative Councillor George McIrvine put forward a motion to refuse the planning application on the grounds it would have an adverse impact on residents and lead to “an excessive concentration of non-maintstream residential uses to the detriment of the character of the area”.
Further to this, he argued the development would not be compatible with the local schools and nurseries and the proposed site would be better used for conventional housing.
This motion was seconded by SNP Coldside member Mark Flynn and his Nationalist colleague and fellow ward councillor Anne Rendall.
The development had been recommended for approval by council officers, which was put forward by the committee convener Will Dawson.
Custody unit to be ‘game changer’ for future of penal reform
The custody unit to be built metres away from a new multi-million pound school will lead the way in penal reform, a prison chief has said.
The community based unit will “empower” the women trapped in the cycle of re-offending and improve rehabilitation rates, according to the head of the Scottish Prison Service’s corporate affairs Tom Fox.
Mr Fox presented the case for building the base in the Hilltown, as the SPS believes rehabilitating women prisoners in the community’s they are likely to return to as the best option.
He said many women in the prison system were serving life sentences at “six month intervals”, with the majority of inmates being trapped in a cycle of severe physical, mental and sexual abuse and severe drug dependency.
Addressing members of the council planning committee, Mr Fox said only the right types of prisoner would be placed in the community unit and if re-offending occurred, they would be sent back to closed units in Corton Vale, Greenock, Edinburgh and Polmont.
He said: “In 2012, the SPS was asked to look at the future of women in prison in Scotland.
“There are currently more than 400 women in prison and that is 400 too many.
“These repeat prisoners are serving life sentences in six month instalments.
“This type of unit will radically change the way we deal with women in prison in this country.
“We deal currently with women who have been on the treadmill of the criminial justice system.
“These units will be a turning point for these women.
“These units will help women equip themselves to become positive members of their communities.
“We are currently planning on building two units, one in Dundee and another in Maryhill, Glasgow.
“It will be a game changer.
“There will be a maximum of sixteen people living in the Dundee unit.
“They will be engaging with local services equipping themselves to be able to give back to their local communities.
“I understand concerns and the SPS understands the concerns.
“Too many women in Scotland are condemned to life in prison.
“These women will be subject to a long and careful rehabilitation.
“Footfall at the prison will be very small…women in prison tend not to get many visitors.
“Twenty-three sites were initially identified in Dundee and two fully met our criteria.
“These units will be a transformation, not just for these women or Dundee, but for Scotland.”
Mr Fox added the unit will be staffed “24 hours a day” and that the SPS will liase with the police, council and third sector.
He continued by saying the women “could not be wrapped in cotton wool” when questioned about possible vices and temptations women living in the unit might face, but the units and the work carried out in them would help “empower” the prisoners before they are released back into the community.
