MP calls Government plan for Reading prison 'crass' as sale gets closer
Matt Rodda says the Government should 'cut their losses' and help the community to turn the prison into an arts hub
Reading East MP Matt Rodda says the government's insistence on selling Reading prison to a private developer is 'crass'.
The MP has collected more than 13,000 signatures on a petition calling for the Victorian jail house to be turned into a community arts hub.
He's stepping up his campaign to save the prison which is close to the burial spot of King Henry the first and where Oscar Wilde was once incarcerated:
"That historical uniqueness is its greatest strength and it needs to be noticed and not some crass attempt to turn it into flats, it should be used as an arts and heritage hub.
"They (the Government) I believe are trying to get a lot of money out of the sale and I just don't think they're going to achieve that and in fact all the time they're wasting trying to negotiate they're having to pay for the upkeep of the jail and it seems blindingly obvious they should use it for arts and heritage and cut their losses."
The prison in which Oscar Wilde was once incarcerated and which has the ruins of Reading's 12th century Abbey within its grounds has been closed for ten years.
The Government said last week they were close to completing a sale but Reading Borough Council sources say it's odd how the preferred bidder hasn't had any contact with them to start informal planning negotiations.
The campaign to turn the jail into an arts and community centre has gained support from notable names including Banksy, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Kate Winslet, Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Fry.
Matt Rodda is now stepping up his campaign and appealing for people to sign his petition to save the jail from private developers.
More details of the campaign here