The Home Office is stepping up the pace to establish a secure training centre in Brentwood.
The Youth Justice Board is inviting companies to tender for the building and management contract for the controversial youth jail on the former St Charles Site in Weald Road.
Despite bitter opposition from residents and Brentwood Borough Council, the countdown to an opening date of Autumn 2005 is clearly underway.
A land swap suggestion put to the Home Office last year that could have allowed the centre to be built on green belt land neighbouring the proposed development has been ruled out.
But the Youth Justice Board has conceded there is scope to move the buildings within the existing site without encroaching onto the green belt.
The final designs for the jail housing up to 40 persistent young offenders will be down to the company that produces the preferred bid.
But young people in custody will have individual bedrooms with en-suite facilities. The bedrooms will be locked at night.
They will not have private telephone lines as is reported to be the case at the Medway STC in Kent.
The Brentwood STC will have an education and learning centre, sports pitch and gym.
Outline planning permission for the jail was approved by a planning inspector following an inquiry in 2001.
There was fresh hope that it would never become a reality when it appeared a cash row between the Treasury and the Home Office could scupper the YJB's building programme.
But the issue was resolved and the YJB put the Brentwood scheme back on track.
The announcement by the YJB on Friday said: "The YJB will be inviting tenders for the contract next week. The STC is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2005."
Brentwood Council was dismayed to learn the secure training centre had been put out to tender. The tender covers demolition of existing buildings, design, construction and management of the STC.
Council chiefs said the focus now had to be lobbying for the best available position of the unit on the land, that is as far away as possible from local residents.
Brentwood Council chief executive Bob McLintock said the Green Belt boundary did not go round the exact line of the existing premises.
He said: "It does give scope for some movement. We will continue to press them to move it as much as we can without encroaching on the Green Belt and the next step is to press them to move it a little way into the Green Belt if a special case can be made.
Brentwood and Ongar MP Eric Pickles, a long time opponent of the Brentwood scheme, said: "I understand from the site plan that the STC is not as prominent as it might otherwise have been but I still believe it is unwelcome, in the wrong place and serving the wrong community. It is bad news and the Home Office will eventually come to regret this decision."
Leading residents' campaigner, Bob Goodier, of St Charles Road, predicted severe recruitment problems for the Brentwood STC as high house prices are already making it difficult to find staff for social services type work and even good local schools have problems retaining teachers.
A Youth Justice Board spokesman said: "I know it's a big issue in Brentwood. I can understand the concerns of local people but this is not a St Charles. It's completely different. I can't stress that enough."
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2003
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