HMP SOUTHFIELD MEADOWS

An inmate’s view (or not).

I agree with the Editor’s comments in the last issue. I am born and bred Abernethy and have lived here for over 73 years but it’s the first time I have felt imprisoned.

Don’t get me wrong, our Hadden bungalow in Sandilands Grove is everything we were expecting, well built and finished and we are delighted with it.

The so-called acoustic fence towers above the back garden and blocks out the sun. It is built on top of a made up unconsolidated bund of earth which washes down the 1 in 3 banking on to our grass every time it rains leaving handy wee spaces for the local wild life to pop their heads in under the fence to say "hello" and give us much needed peep holes for a view point! As far as stopping any noise ( of which there is really none to speak of ) they would have done as much good hanging up a line of string vests!

The approximate overall height is 14 feet on our garden side but this could be remedied by removing the bund in Branston's yard and refitting the boards back down to ground level but this time using common sense and have the stupid H iron beams on their industrial side and the wood only showing on our residential side. This would reduce the 1 in 3 slope, the overall height would be reduced by approximately 1 metre and take the prison effect away somewhat. I could live with that.

Sandy Walker