Isle of Wight: MP Bob Seely asks action over Camp Hill

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been urged to take action over the future of a former prison.

The Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has written to the MoJ to raise concerns over the "lack of decisions" over Camp Hill.

The former prison, next to Newport's Parkhurst Forest, was closed in 2013 as part of cost-cutting measures and the site has been unused since.

The MoJ has confirmed there are no plans to reopen it.

In his letter to prisons minister, Victoria Atkins, Mr Seely said it was his "strong preference" for the land to be used for affordable housing.

"This offers the greatest benefit to the island and my constituents," he said.

Mr Seely also pointed out that former prisons minister Rory Stewart had indicated that the land could be transferred to the Isle of Wight Council in order to be developed into affordable housing.

"I am disappointed therefore that there has been no further movement on this," Mr Seely added.

He said he was eager to resolve the issue "after almost a decade of obsolescence" and to give the local council "some form of finality" as to how the site would be used.

Ms Atkins confirmed there were no plans to reopen the Camp Hill prison site.

"The prison estate is kept under careful review to ensure there is sufficient capacity," she added.

HMP Camp Hill was built in 1912 and became part of the Isle of Wight prison cluster in 2009, holding more than 500 inmates, before being closed in 2013.

Previous proposals to build wind turbines at the site were rejected in 2014 following more than 600 objections.

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