MYSTERY surrounds the timing of an announcement about whether Omega will become the site for a Titan prison complex.

Prison Minister David Hanson had told Clr Kevin Reynolds (LD – Whittle Hall) in a letter sent last month that an announcement would be made on future sites once the responses to the Titan consultation had been printed before the end of March.

But those responses have yet to be seen.

Clr Reynolds said: “We are being kept in the dark. What is really frustrating is the reply from David Hanson.

“I told him ‘ignore the 11,000 signatures at your peril’. The prison is going to bring 1,000 jobs which means Warrington could lose 24,000 jobs from Omega. When we come out of this recession we want Warrington to be at the front of any business investment.”

In the letter to Clr Reynolds Mr Hanson acknowledged the opposition from residents following an online petition, but did not mention a petition handed into 10 Downing Street with the 11,000 signatures from the town.

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on when it would be announcing which site had been chosen as a place to build a Titan prison.

Last weekend saw residents take to the town centre as Warrington Residents Against the Prison Proposal campaigned on the streets.

Helen Southworth MP met with David Hanson earlier this week to enforce the opposition to creating a prison that could hold 2,500 prisoners on the Omega Business Park.

Helen said: “I have made absolutely clear the huge opposition there is to any proposal for a Titan prison in Warrington. I told the prison minister again, as I have in previous meetings, that the Omega site has huge economic importance for Warrington as a high quality business park, bringing investment in new technology industries into the area. It would be totally unsuitable for a large prison to be built on this site.”

The Warrington South MP added that she had been assured that no decision had been made on where in the region the prison would go.

Other sites being considered are thought to be Blackburn and Bolton.

David Hanson added in a letter to Mrs Southworth: “I will reflect on the points that you have made, and the views of you and your constituents will be taken into consideration when a decision on sites for the new prisons is being made.”