Owner of Shrewsbury's former Dana prison 'keen to redevelop site' - but first, it's zombies

Trevor Osborne, chairman of the Osborne Group which bought the site in Shrewsbury last year, said he will also be holding public meetings in September.

Last week it was announced that Jailhouse Tours will take over the site for 12 months from August, and Mr Osborne said the period would allow the time to put together a planning application.

He said: "We obviously need time to get the scheme right and to get the planning application in, so it is a good thing.

"There is a curiosity and so many people have asked to see it that I would be up there every week, so we had to find someone who can deal with it in a proper way."

Mr Osborne said that despite the level of interest in the building's former role as a prison he is committed to redeveloping the site.

He said: "Visitors are exploring the past, I am rather keen on developing the future."

The developer has previously said that the redeveloped prison will be a "mixed use site", featuring accommodation for students in revamped cells, and based on the theme "Shrewsbury's Walled Garden".

He said: "The architects are preparing plans now for submission in autumn."

"It will be the same theme. The most important thing is it is harbouring the idea of Shrewsbury's Walled Garden, which will be very attractive for people to visit."

Mr Osborne also said he did not believe planning consent would be required for Jailhouse Tours to take over and start running events.

The Dana could soon be welcoming the walking dead as part of a new tourist attraction.

Jailhouse Tours will be hosting tours, education days, and "escape events".

But the company's owner, Joel Campbell, today said he is also looking at the possibility of hosting zombie events.

Games involving zombies have become a big craze, with people paying for experiences that vary from being asked to escape the shambling hordes to being armed and told to hunt the undead down.

The Dana would be considered an ideal backdrop to a zombie experience and Mr Campbell said he is keen to organise the events, provided they can be arranged during their 12-month lease.

He said: "They have not been designed yet but we will start to bring some of those things forward towards Halloween."

Zombie Experiences is one company which runs a number of different events around the UK, including one where people are let loose in an abandoned shopping centre in Reading on a mission to track down a missing police squad. Participants are given training and provided with weapons to take on the "undead".

Jailhouse Tours are currently in the process of preparing The Dana with the intention of opening it to the public in August.

Mr Campbell said that ticket prices for tours are currently being reviewed with adult entry expected to cost £10 to £12.

He said the prison tours will give people the first hand experience of what jail is like.

He added: "Our guided tours give people the opportunity to view, touch and experience first-hand this historic building and learn more about its history dating back to 1793. Guided tours last approximately 90 minutes and are run by a guide with extensive knowledge of the prison life, the prison site and its grisly history.

"Tours will start at the gatehouse, the first thing a prisoner would have seen upon entering The Dana and a harsh reminder of where they have ended up. Moving through the front courtyard into 'prison induction' people will see first-hand the process each inmate would have gone through before being put into the 'general population'.

"They will follow the same route a prisoner would have taken to the wings, where they will be exposed to what a prison wing really looks and feels like. There will be plenty of time to look around in the cells, shower blocks, guards control rooms and soak up the magnificent architecture."

Mr Campbell said all visitors would also have the opportunity to partake in a "closed cell experience", where they enter the cells and have the doors closed behind them.