Shrewsbury Prison moves to be officially recognised as tourist hotspot

The former Dana Prison, which closed as a jail in 2012, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, and has been used for filming paranormal TV shows as well as Coronation Street, hit Sky One series Brassic and the double Bafta-winning drama Time.

The venue has been running its visitor events on an informal basis, but now the owners have retrospectively lodged an official change of use application with Shropshire Council for it to become a bespoke leisure facility and visitor attraction.

A design and access statement says: "The site forms a substantive part of the former HMP Shrewsbury, which was closed in 2012. It is broadly rectangular enclosed by a tall brick wall with a Georgian gate house located on the south western side. The site of the prison is listed Grade II and is located within the Castlefields Conservation Area.

"The proposal is retrospective for a change of use of the site to the visitor attraction that has been operated successfully and without any known adverse impacts arising from the use in this time.

"No changes have been made to any of the buildings as part of the visitor attraction use and none is proposed. The visitor experience works on the basis of a range of experiences. This primarily includes guided and selfguided tours, but also offers immersive escape room experiences, and ghost tours through the site and offers opportunities to see how the site is organised and functioned. Informal interpretation has been provided throughout the site to explain how the prison used to operate."

The statement adds: "As indicated the site is currently accommodating around 78,000 visitors annually or 6,500 a month. It is not proposed to increase visitor numbers further, simply to regularise the current position. The operators are not aware of any adverse impacts on the local community or other impacts arising from the development to date but have recognised the growing interest in demand for 'Dark Tourism' which includes sites associated with tragedy or trauma or disaster events, a comparable site to Shrewsbury Prison might be such as the London Dungeons.

"In this the current use is considered to be highly sustainable as it generates no onsite visitor parking demand, it positively supports the visitor economy as those visiting the prison are likely to spend time and money in the adjacent town centre shops, bars and restaurants, and is sensitive in terms of its impact on the listed buildings as no alterations have taken place or are proposed as part of this change of use application.

"The proposal seeks to regularise the use of the prison as a visitor attraction, a use that developed informally but is now a destination and positive contributor to the town's visitor economy and supports the delivery of the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan vision."

To view the application in full and comment visit bit.ly/3hrJwT1