Cessnock Council is calling on the NSW Government to explain why access to Cessnock Correctional Centre cannot be established via a direct route through State Government owned land to Wine Country Drive.
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At the last council meeting, councillors agreed that access to the jail should be taken off the local road network and that the current Lindsay Street access was "not viable and should be closed". They also vowed to write to government and opposition calling for direct access from Wine Country Drive through land owned by Correctional Services NSW and NSW Health Department.
Corrective Services said a road to Wine Country Drive through this land, which is used by Hunter New England Local Health District and community groups, was evaluated in 2017 and excluded from further consideration because of the "disruption it would cause to these organisations".
But residents in Mavis Street and Kerlew Street, Nulkaba, where the government is proposing a second access point, say the expansion of the jail was already disrupting their otherwise quiet streets.
The correctional centre is in the midst of a massive expansion, with a 400-bed prison opened last year and 330-bed and 240-bed expansion projects underway.
Mavis Street resident Molly Rayward said there had been a huge increase in traffic along her street already, particularly early in the morning when there is a shift change. The new 400 bed facility has added an extra 238 staff members to the complex.
"Some of them fly down the road," she said. "It's pretty dangerous.
"There's a lot more trucks too. I didn't think I would have noticed it as much as I have."
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Ms Rayward said some of the workers also parked out the front of her house to smoke before they started their shift as the entire site is a smoke free zone.
"I would like to see the access closed," she said. "It used to be a really quite street, but it's not really anymore."
Another Mavis Street resident, who did not want to be named, also wants the access point moved elsewhere.
"There has been an increase in traffic, especially with the shift change," she said.
"It doesn't affect me a lot but if I had young children it would be a different kettle of fish."
Kerlew Street resident Karen Shearer said she had numerous concerns about the proposed access point through her street.
She said traffic was a big one with Corrective Services estimating an extra 1,300 car movements a day once the expansion is complete.
"It's bad through Mavis Street now and it's not even finished yet," she said.
Ms Shearer also had fears the area would become a litter hotspot as visitors and staff disposed of cigarettes before they went in.
Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent said council would continue to advocate for a "common sense approach".
“Our residents should not be footing the bill for the ongoing road maintenance costs of a NSW Government facility," he said. "For such a large development the community deserves better.
“This debate has been going on for far too long and our residents deserve to be listened to.
"We’re asking both the NSW Government and opposition to join us in supporting the rate payers of Cessnock to secure a long term solution."
Following the council meeting, the Cessnock Correctional Centre Community Consultative Committee met with Cessnock MP Clayton Barr, who said he had lodged a Freedom of Information request to access the study that led to Corrective Services deciding the Health land was not an acceptable option.
When asked about its plans for road access, Corrective Services said it was "committed to exploring alternative access arrangements to the Cessnock complex should an appropriate option be identified".