Owners of neighbouring properties will no doubt be affected by increased noise, traffic and light. Residents have also argued the values of their properties will be slashed if a 400-bed maximum security facility is built less than 150 metres from their doorstep.

Some have even gone as far as saying livability, community well-being and democracy will be impacted if the proposal goes ahead.

The hospital will be further stretched than it already is.

Just last Friday an inmate was stabbed, requiring local medical resources for treatment and transportation.

Roads, particularly those around the prison, will receive increased wear and tear with more cars coming in and out of the jail each day.

Corrective Services NSW northern custodial director Glen Scholes (pictured) told a 200-strong crowd of concerned residents that the reality was that “prison numbers run over the top of everything.”

Mr Scholes said there had been a 13 per cent increase in the prison population in the past two years alone.

These prisoners have got to be put somewhere, but understandably there aren’t too many people who would want inmates put anywhere near their homes.

While these residents have every right to be angry about the prison, there are some positives of expanding the facility.

The expansion would create an extra 450 jobs during construction and a further 430 permanent jobs after that.

In the quarter leading up to March 2016, the unemployment rate in Cessnock was 11.71 per cent.

There is also the argument that local resources would be used in construction and ongoing maintenance of the prison, putting more money back into the local economy.

Jobs are much needed in the Cessnock and wider Hunter area, and resources bought locally would have flow-on effects.

But at what cost is this coming if residents are unhappy and have their quality of life impeded?

Let’s hope that the NSW government will take the concerns of local residents into consideration when making a final decision about the expansion.