BACKGROUNDER
The Silverlands Action Campaign group was formed in October 2001 to oppose a Home Office decision (now under review) to re-locate a treatment centre from its current site (Wolvercote Clinic, Horton Hospital) in Epsom, Surrey to (Silverlands, Holloway Hill) Chertsey, Surrey.
The Silverlands Action Campaign accepts the need for the prevention of child sex abuse and does not condone the need for this type of facility. However, an institution [housing and] treating persons who are by their very nature a serious danger to children should not be opened in a location so heavily populated by children. We do not believe any community in a democratic country should have a facility like this planned and implemented in secrecy without any consultation with the community and their elected representatives.
May 11th 2001: Home Secretary Jack Straw, his deputy, Paul Boateng, and junior health minister Gisela Stuart agree to a civil servants’ recommendation that the Wolvercote Clinic for convicted paedophiles be transferred from Epsom to Chertsey.
July 2001: Home Office and Probation
Services have secret talks with Surrey Police to discuss the proposed plans to
re-locate the paedophile clinic.
Mid-August
2001:
Runnymede Council chief executive Tim Williams was ‘stunned’ in a telephone
conversation with National Probation Services official Carole Kellas to learn
Silverlands had been chosen as a site for the Wolvercote Clinic. He was told the patients would be men with
‘behavioural problems’. Mr. Williams
was bound by confidentiality.
Early October
2001: Local
resident informs Surrey Herald that he was worried about a barbed wire fence
being erected around Silverlands, a grade II listed building owned by the
department of Health. He discovered
that the owners had not applied for planning permission.
October 12th
2001: Mr.
Philip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge was not briefed by the Home
Office and found out about the plans only when local newspaper, the Surrey
Herald, called him for his reaction.
October 15th
2001:
Surrey Herald journalist contacts the Home Office and left a list of questions
for the chief press officer, George Burrow.
More than four hours later the Home Office contacted the local paper
confirming that Silverlands was a proposed site for the clinic, but that work
on Silverlands to convert it into a clinic had been suspended pending a review.
October 15th
2001: When
the confirmation of the news was conveyed to Runnymede Council, embarrassed
chief executive Tim Williams admitted they had been gagged for weeks.
October 18th
2001: The
story broke in the Surrey Herald alerting local residents to the Home Office
proposals.
October 21st
2001: More
than 250 local Chertsey residents crowded into a local Village Hall to protest
at the relocation of the clinic.
October 22nd
2001: The
Silverlands Action Campaign was formed by a number of local residents. www.silverlandsgroup.org
October 25th
2001:
Runnymede Council Meeting. Protesters
packing the public gallery at the Civic Offices, Addlestone, hear councillors
unanimously condemn the Home Office proposals.
October 26th
2001:
Silverlands Action Campaign group hold the first candlelit vigil outside
Silverlands. More than 300 protesters
supported the campaign efforts that evening in the rain. The BBC News Room London covered the all day
protest, including the evening vigil.
Every Friday
5pm – 7pm:
The candlelit vigil is held every Friday outside Silverlands from 5pm-7pm.
October 31st
2001:
Beverley Hughes, Home Office junior minister left with the political hot potato
in her lap, visited the site for the first time with a 20-strong police and
Special Branch protection team. She
denied a Whitehall cover up but admits Silverlands “could have been handled
better”. Beverly Hughes confirmed that
the Home Office will spend £2 million pounds of tax payers money to convert the
Silverlands building.
November 7th
2001:
Planning application, which made no mention of paedophile treatment centre was
tactfully withdrawn by Mr. Milburn, Health Secretary from the Runnymede
planning committee. The withdrawn
application said Mr. Milburn’s department wanted to “convert Silverlands to a
psychiatric in-patient residential clinic”.
Planning officers from Runnymede were recommending refusal on the grounds that the proposed alterations “would adversely affect the historic fabric, character and interest of the listed building and harm its setting.
The Home Office continues the work to convert
Silverlands.
November 13th
2001: Tony
Raban, head of the [Silverlands] review committee1
on behalf of the Home Office, requests a series of individual meetings with
representatives from the following local groups: Silverlands Action Campaign,
Schools, local MP Philip Hammond, Faith groups, local Health Trust and
Runnymede Councillors. Mr. Raban
declares that the objective of these meetings is for his review committee to
enter into a dialogue, as part of the review process, to answer our questions,
hear our main concerns, listen to our suggestions, sort out any misconceptions
held by individuals.
November 27th,
2001: Home
Office release a suitability criteria document which was used by the Home
Office when selecting Silverlands as the new home for the Wolvercote clinic.
Friday
30th November:
Silverlands Action Campaign presents a petition with
more than 3000 names to 10 Downing Street.
December 18th 2001: Philip Hammond MP held
an adjournment debate with the Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes. Philip Hammond was supported in the debate
by Andrew MacKinlay, the Labour MP for Thurrock, a former pupil at Salesian
School. Key points from the debate
include: 1) PH requested that data underpinning the final decision and the
locations considered should be published for scrutiny. 2) PH sought assurance that work on the
building was just repairs to the fabric of the building.
7th February, 2002: Philip Hammond
meets with Tony Raban and Eithne Wallis from the Home Office to discuss the
decision making process. Key points
from the meeting include: 1) Home Office confirm that they are now only weeks
away from a decision. 2) If Silverlands is selected then the Home Office agreed
to fully comply with all planning and listed building consents. 3) Home Office
would make no commitments as to what information on their decision making
process they would make public.
1.
The
Silverlands Action Campaign were not informed until 27th November,
2001 what criteria the Home Office used when selecting Silverlands. A copy of the suitability document can be
obtained via the Silverlands Action Campaign website at
www.silverlandsgroup.org
The Home Office is unable to outline what risk
assessment, if any, has been conducted
In fact, in an information paper sent to local Councillors by the
National Probation Services[NPS] outlining the work of the Lucy Faithfull
Foundation [at Wolvercote Clinic], the NPS feel that “any potential risk is minimised” to the
local area [Silverlands]. They outline
that “a typical resident” will be a parent, stepparent, uncle, neighbour,
church leader, teacher or sports coach to the child victim”. They also say that a minority of ‘residents’ will be convicted of
possession or distribution of child pornography on the Internet or of
committing offences against children unknown to them, ie. predatory paedophile.
What they [NPS] neglected to say in their document was
that in late 2000, a Wolvercote ‘resident’ paedophile sparked a police search
when he absconded from Wolvercote. The
paedophile, John McCormack, who has been convicted of numerous sex offences
against children, was being treated at the Wolvercote clinic. Police say that he was eventually picked up
at a hostel in Birmingham. McCormack
was originally released from prison on license on condition he followed the
Wolvercote treatment programme.
The Home Office decision directly contravenes Government policy that communities and individuals have a right to be consulted when decisions are being considered which affect those communities.
·
Silverlands
is a family area surrounded by built up communities
·
The
proposed Paedophile clinic (Silverlands) is surrounded by over 23 schools
within 2.5 miles (see enclosed local map).
·
The
nearest school is an infant school, which is only a 5 minute walk from the
proposed centre.
·
The
proposed site backs onto St. Peter’s hospital that is home to a number of
children’s wards, crèches and nurseries
·
The
site backs onto the Abraham Cowley unit – a psychiatric unit for the
rehabilitation of teenagers and adults abused as children
·
Within
a 2 mile radius are many parks and playgrounds surrounded by woodland
·
One
of the UK’s largest children’s theme parks, Thorpe Park, is 2 miles from the
proposed site
·
St.
Peter’s hospital, Chertsey, is 20% understaffed and are recruiting staff from
the Philippines. Medical staff find it
difficult securing affordable accommodation in the area.
·
Silverlands
grounds are overlooked by a residential home.
Home to a single parent family with one young boy.
·
Police
are understaffed.
·
The
unit houses 25 paedophiles for approximately one year at a time.
·
They
are free to leave the site if accompanied by a member of staff (not by the
police)
·
280
paedophiles have been treated so far at the Epsom unit.
·
40
have re-offended.
·
6
have absconded.
·
Some
patients go for treatment on probation licence.
Contact the
Silverlands Action Campaign on:
email: silverlandsgroup@hotmail.com