News
downsmail.co.uk Petition to save ‘unique’ prison
MOREthan a 1,000 signatures have been registered on a government website opposing the closure of East Sutton open prison. Thewomen’s prisonwas targeted
for closure by the Ministry of Jus- tice in October as part of reforms. But staff and the community say
the move fails to give the prison credit for its low re-offending rate, its cohesion within the community and claims the suggestion that re- forms will place women closer to their homes is a red herring. Both East Sutton and Sutton Va-
lence parish councils are urging residents to sign the petition, which says the proposed closure of the
country’s only two open prisons for women is discrimination. East Sutton Parish Council’s clerk
Janet Burnett said: “Both parish councils believe this is purely a fi- nancial decision which takes no ac- count of the uniqueness of the open prison. It has played an important
role in the community and for those passing through it doors.” The village holds its fete in the grounds of the prison – a punish- ment centre since 1946, with 84 acres including a working farm, gardens and a farm shop. Mrs Burnett said the communi-
ties would be sorry to lose the prison. The campaign to keep it open is also being backed by local MPHugh Robertson. Justice Minister Lord McNally
has said the closure decision did not reflect the hard work of staff, nor of the prison’s performance. A decision will be taken about the fu- ture of the listed manor house. He
said the facility would only close once new faciltieswere available. The prison,which has 94 inmates
and six young offenders, is among the Prison Service’s older stock. It cost £2.6m to run last year, repre- senting a bill of £48,842 per inmate. Aspokesman for the prison serv-
ice said on an earlier occasion: “Older buildings are more expen- sive to run, but we are closing the prison so that inmates can be closer to home and in line with our re- forms to reintroduce them to soci- ety before they leave prison.” The move brings the number of prisons shut or earmarked for clo- sure to 21 since 2010.
Athlete’s dedication rewarded Men’s group gets a new name
Continued from page one Emmaplays for PenniesVespers netball team, which is top of the MMNL league’s Division 3. She will be competing in the National Schools Trampoline Champi- onship at Gateshead on March 22 and has just passed her intermedi- ate tap exam with distinction. She said: “I train at Maidstone
Dance Studios and also help run a junior hip hop crew. I have also re- cently got into a new hip hop crew
myself, and we will be perform- ing at R’enc Arts Hip Hop Festival in Brittany in April.” So where does she get her moti-
vation and all that energy? She said: “I’ve always loved tak-
ing part in sport and physical ac- tivity and have always been very competitive. “I get a buzz from performing
and being in a competitive situa- tion. I hope that sport will carry on to be a part of my life.”
A POPULAR men’s group in five parishes south of Maidstone has been rebranded in the hope of at- tracting new members. The 5P group – which stood for
the five parishes – has become Bea- con Men in the hope of appealing to all men in the area, not necessar- ily church-goers or committed Christians. The group is also introducing changes to its programme of events, which kicks off with bar bil-
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6 Maidstone South March 2014
liards at the Hunton Club at 8pm on March 20. The bi-monthly programme will incorporate two to three social meetings each year and two to three meetings with a gospel mes- sage. The group also has a new email adress, which is beaconmen-
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