Village 'will become ghost town' without prison

There are fears a village in Devon could become a "ghost town" if its prison does not reopen.

HMP Dartmoor, at Princetown, was closed in July 2024 after the government found levels of the radioactive gas radon were up to 10 times higher than the safe limit.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) told the BBC the closure was temporary and the prison had been made safe, but said it was working with specialist radon gas experts to "investigate whether we can re-open the prison safely".

If the prison cannot reopen, one group predicts the loss of more than 200 prison staff and 600 inmates could leave a £30m hole in the local economy.

"That sounds a big number, but it's pretty realistic," said Tim Jones, chairman of the South West Observatory.

"We are in a situation where pretty much every cell that we've got in this country has got an occupier for it, I wonder whether they can really afford to give up on 675 spaces.

"It's a very difficult debate, but I think in this case public health and radon gas are going to win," he said.

He added: "I'd be very surprised if this reopens any time soon."

For more than 200 years, the prison has towered over Princetown, a village with a population of just 1,500 people.

For most of that time it has also brought jobs and prosperity in the form of a handful of pubs, cafes, shops, and a Post Office.

"I've been here over 40-odd years now and I've seen such a big decline," said Jane Liversidge, who works at the Post Office and Store.

"If the prison goes that'll be it, and we'll end up as a ghost town," she said.

Once such example of decline was in October when Princetown's visitor centre closed for the final time due to "rising costs and reduced government funding".

Nikki Hirst set up the Princetown Business Network to help local businesses in the village.

"It's just making sure Princetown stays as it is and it doesn't fall apart if the prison goes," she said.

"But we are trying to think beyond that and have a plan for the future.

"With the backing we're getting hopefully we will be able to do something to make Princetown a much better place."

But Ms Hirst's husband, Terry, who runs the Rambler's Rest Guesthouse, said he believed the logical decision would be to reopen the prison.

"Surely it's got to be cheaper to reopen a prison than build a new one," he said.

"We've already got a prison, everybody wants it there, so it just seems stupid not to be re-opening it."

The MoJ said: "Whilst the site remains temporarily closed, the site has been made safe, and a radon risk assessment remains in place.

"Gov Facilities Services Limited is in the process of moving its staff out of HMP Dartmoor as new arrangements are being put in place to manage the site whilst we work to investigate whether we can re-open the prison safely.

"Prison staff will remain on site until any new arrangements are in place."

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