And the leader of Wrexham Council says the prison is vital for the local economy given the number of job losses recently suffered here.

Prisons Minister and Delyn MP David Hanson today revealed that the decision as to which of the four sites has been chosen as the location for Wales' new prison will be made shortly.

Four possible sites have been shortlisted for the new jail, including the former Firestone factory on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

Also on the list are sites in Cwmbran, Merthyr Tydfil and Caernarfon.

A wide-ranging consultation exercise on the proposal was completed just before Christmas and Mr Hanson, the government minster responsible for its implementation, said this week: "We need extra prison places in Wales.

"We are now listening to the responses made to the consultation and making a decision on which site is chosen.

"I expect to make an announcement within the next few weeks."

Siting the prison in Wrexham has won considerable backing because of the major economic benefits it is expected to bring.

The construction phase alone could generate 850 jobs – 230 in the immediate area and another 620 in the region as a whole.

Predictions are that the jail would pump up to £11 million into the regional economy every year for three years.

Once the prison is open it would create more than 1,000 permananet jobs, including 480 people on site and another 560 in the support services and supplier sectors.

These figures come from a a study conducted for the North Wales Criminal Justice Board which concluded that apart from a multi-million pound economic bonanza for the region, a prison would also lead to a big reduction in crime in the immediate vicinity.

Backing for the siting of a prison in North Wales has also come from Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom who has said the basic human rights of prisoners' from the region were being breached by the fact that they are currently scattered in 25 different prisons across the UK – as far afield as Newcastle and Dover.

Wrexham Council has given its support to a prison being created somewhere in North Wales although not specifically in the county.

Council leader Cllr Aled Roberts said that the two North Wales sites had a stronger case than than southern counterparts, firstly because prisoners from this area were being accommodated in Merseyside and further afield and secondly for economic reasons.

And he pointed out: "With the current economic climate and the number of job losses we have experienced I believe Wrexham has an economic case as strong as the case made out for Caernarfon.

"If Wrexham is chosen, an undertaking should be sought from the prison service or whoever else runs the new prison that for the first three or four years we can train local people to take up the jobs it will provide."

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