Fast-track plan for ex-prisoners' home thrown out

A fast-track attempt by government to convert a home on a residential street into temporary accommodation for former prisoners has been thrown out by council planners.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had asked local authority Blackburn with Darwen Council in June for a certificate of lawfulness to allow the change of use without going through the full planning procedure.

Under the submitted proposal, the terraced house on Bentham Road, Blackburn, would have been used by up to three former prisoners at a time.

The council ruled the plan did not meet requirements and said the MoJ would have to submit a full planning application if it still wanted to go ahead.

The application was part of an MoJ scheme to help convicts at risk of homelessness upon release, as well as to get them used to "crime-free living".

The ex-prisoners would have been subject to a curfew between 23:00 BST and 06:00.

No released prisoner with "a conviction, caution or allegation of any sexual offences" would have been allowed to stay at the property.

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