Cr Johnston said he believed about 70 per cent of the local community was in favour of the prison being built while about 30 per cent were opposed to the idea.

He said the decision was ultimately a state government one, not a council one.

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"It's not a Meander Valley Council project as such," Cr Johnston said. "I know we will get some criticism from some people about it, which is fair enough."

"When it goes through our planning scheme, they'll have the opportunity to do that."

An amendment would need to be made to the council's planning scheme in order for a prison to be built, as the scheme doesn't currently provide for the construction of such a facility, according to Cr Johnston.

"There's going to have to be some form of amendment to our planning scheme and that'll rest with the Tasmanian Planning Commission," he said.

"It'll be the state government's [role] to get out to the community and get their feedback and potentially allay their concerns about all the issues that come with a jail.

"Overall, it's a good announcement - I mean, a jail's got to go somewhere."

Back in 2017, when Craig Perkins was mayor, the Meander Valley Council wrote to the state government to stress that it would prefer a Northern prison be built beside the Ashley Youth Detention Centre near Deloraine.

"It is not possible because of requirements that a jail is not beside a youth facility," Cr Johnston said on Monday.

Grant Herring of JusTas, a criminal justice advocacy group, said a new Tasmanian prison would represent "a huge cost both in establishment and operation".

"Building prisons doesn't solve crime problems ... [or] social problems," he said.

"It tends to create them."