By Sharon Webb

THE FIRST real estate casualty of the Northern Regional Prison has been put up for sale. Cindy Swinton, who lives at Rivers Edge on her 20 hectare property further down Birralee Road from the proposed prison site, has decided the uncertainty of running a bed and breakfast business close to the prison is not for her. ‘After living here 35 years it’s not a place I want to leave but it’s too much for me. The prison announcement was the last straw,’ Ms Swinton said. ‘Now is the time to go.’ Ms Swinton’s husband died seven years ago. The couple ran the property as Park Crest Thoroughbred Stud, the home of several successful racehorses. They built a home of stone quarried from the site in a stunning location right on the banks of the Meander River. The sound of the water rushing by is soothing as Ms Swinton puts up her feet with a glass of wine on the covered deck. Having converted her home to a B&B six months ago, Ms Swinton is despondent about its future. ‘No-one will want to stay in my B&B next to a prison,’ she said.

But actually, the property is not within sight of the prison and home-owners with a sense of history may well be attracted. ‘We used Baltic Pine and convict bricks from three old houses we demolished for feature walls,’ Ms Swinton said, ‘The uprights are Tasmanian Oak from the old Deloraine train station and the Oregon beams are from an old bridge at Latrobe.’ The couple lived in a caravan on the site for two years while they built the house. During prison consultations, Ms Swinton was immobile after breaking her ankle. Corrections Minister Elise Archer visited Ms Swinton to hear her opinion on the project. ‘Elise Archer agreed the prison would affect property prices but she wouldn’t actually say what the benefits of the prison would be. I think we won’t benefit at all. ‘To me, if someone breaks out they will go bush and head for the river. ‘But I don’t think the prison will get passed because the government has gone about it totally the wrong way. They need to bow out gracefully now and find another site – not near a tourist town or in a tourist area.’ Ms Swinton has her eye on buying another home on the Tamar River. ‘The government needs to put the prison out of sight of tourists,’ she said. ‘If they don’t, Labor will just drag out the issue until the next election.’