A DILAPIDATED building within the HM Prison Thorn Cross complex can be demolished and upgraded.

Plans have been agreed by Warrington Borough Council’s planning department to bulldoze the existing offender management unit at the Appleton Thorn site.

A new, larger and improved unit will be built in its place, with the existing building described as being ‘at the end of its life’.

The Arley Road category D male prison opened in 1985 and is made up of single and double rooms with an operational capacity of 381.

According to documents submitted as part of the application by applicant the Ministry of Justice, the plan is to build a new single storey building within the prison boundary.

The offender management unit is staffed by probation officers and prison staff, whose roles include developing and managing sentence plans, arranging release on temporary license to increase family links, parole board hearings and pre-release work.

There are a number of interview rooms, conference facilities and a mixture of communal and individual offices required, along with washroom and catering facilities.

The building was bought second-hand unit in 2003 and is in ‘such a poor, dilapidated condition’ that the windows are no longer safely secured to the building fabric and the roof is continuously having to be repaired.

The building is damp and not a fit working environment for prison staff, plans state, and the building is considered to be ‘at end of its economic life and past repair’.

The building requires increased maintenance to keep it to a ‘decent standard’, however it is not said to provide a suitable working environment for staff.

Plans state that by replacing the existing building, there will be a reduction in maintenance and operating costs, as well as improving safety for prisoners and staff.