ANGRY residents packed a meeting and voiced their objections about plans to build a massive prison in Wickford.

Some residents were forced to stand at Runwell Village Hall, after 130 people turned up to quiz Ministry of Justice staff, who are behind the plans.

They said they feared the prison will cause a slump in property prices, clog up the already congested roads surrounding Wickford and Runwell, and will leave people feeling unsafe in their homes.

The meeting was the first of two being held to consult with residents over the plans to build the prison, which will hold 1,500 inmates, on the site of Runwell Hospital, in Runwell Chase.

Reg Bailey, of Runwell Road, who has lived in the village for 43 years, said: “Why does the prison have to be three-storeys high? That is going to be a blot on the landscape?.

“And all this transport which comes in and out of the prison. It just can’t go through Wickford, it’s got to go out through the Rettendon Turnpike.”

Another resident, Dave Palmer, who has lived in Runwell for 32 years, added: “Runwell and Wickford have always been the poor relation.

“This is another example of Basildon and Chelmsford councils dumping everything on Wickford. We’ve already got a traveller site.

“If you are going to build something, build something which is going to be of advantage to the people of Wickford.”

Ray Ride, Chelmsford council’s ward member for Runwell, said he was considering calling for a judicial review, if the prison is given the go-ahead by the borough council.

He said: “Is it cynical to believe a judicial review would stand little chance of success, as the defendant would be the Ministry of Justice?”

Battlesbridge councillor Roy Hart also called on the Ministry of Justice to ensure the prison has its own sewage system, to alleviate pressure on the town’s already over-burdened works.

Nicola Lowit, of the National Offender Management Service, said the plans had not been decided, or passed, and they were keen to take residents’ views on board.

A planning application for the jail is expected to be submitted to Chelmsford Council by next year.

If given the go ahead, the prison, which will hold category B inmates, including rapists, murderers and paedophiles, is expected to open in 2013.