Prison construction: £2.3 billion in new opportunities

Construction firms can expect significant new work from the government’s £2.3 billion prison expansion initiative.

The program, which aims to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031, represents a substantial pipeline of secured projects for the construction industry.

Under the Ministry of Justice’s Prison Capacity Strategy, four new prisons will be built in the next seven years, with a goal to open up 6,500 places for offenders.

Meanwhile, another 6,400 places will be built in new blocks on current prison sites. In addition, 1,000 places will be created in ‘rapid deployment cells’, and over 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.

A further £500 million will be spent on building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.

To ensure work starts promptly, rules will be changed so that prisons are deemed ‘sites of national importance’ avoiding the planning delays which have plagued the delivery of new facilities in the past. More land for potential future prison sites is also to be acquired.

Extra investment

The extra investment will reinforce the already-improving prospects for new work in the sector. Glenigan data shows that the value of prison project starts surged to £164 million in the three months to January, an almost fourteen-fold rise compared to a year earlier and accounting for some 38% of all communities & amenities sector work in the period.

The upturn in activity was partly driven by a major £101.5 million detention centre refurbishment at Gosport (Project ID: 23136615).

Glenigan data also highlights numerous other Ministry of Justice prison construction projects of varying sizes around the country and at varying stages which offer new work prospects (Project ID: 15378582).

One major scheme set to get underway this summer is the £116 million project at HMP Lancaster Farms involving the construction of prison house blocks, a workshop, and storage units. Kier Construction is the main contractor on the scheme which will cover a floor area of almost 5,000 sq m with work set to run for 17 months (Project ID: 23237071).

Elsewhere in the North West, detailed plans have been granted, and work is set to start later this spring on a £93 million scheme at HMP Hindley near Wigan. The project is being built under an accelerated programme and involves two accommodation blocks for up to 494 prisoners and other facilities involving almost 25,000 sq m of space. Wates Smartspace is the main contractor on the project, where work is set to run for 40 months (Project ID: 17107775).

Moving south, work is set to start later this spring on a new £300 million prison with up to 67,000 sq m of space at HMP Grendon Springhill near Aylesbury (Project ID: 21094516).

Detailed plans have been submitted and work is due to start later this year on a £75 million development at HM Ford Open Prison in West Sussex. A main contractor has yet to be appointed on the scheme, which involves the construction of seven 3-storey houseblocks and other buildings across a floor area of over 17,000 sq m and where work is set to run for 10 months (Project ID: 21472039).

Other prison expansions planned in the south of England and at the pre-tender stage include schemes at HMP Leyhill (Project ID:241816280) in Gloucestershire and HMP Standford Hill in Kent (Project ID: 21480670).

Smaller Contracts

Smaller contracts on the prison estate also offer opportunities for contracts. For example, detailed plans have been granted on a £3.52 million extension at HMP Foston Hall in Derbyshire. Work on the scheme, which involves two 2-storey houseblocks and other facilities, is set to get underway later this spring and run for 12 months (Project ID: 23033685).

Meanwhile, some major prison construction schemes in the pipeline will generate significant new construction work.

As part of the Ministry of Justice’s new build prison programme, outline plans have been granted and tenders returned for the £236.4 million HMP Wymott 2 (pictured) on land next to two existing prisons at Chorley in Lancashire. Work on the project involving almost 75,000 sq m of space is set to start in summer next year and run for 24 months (Project ID: 21281100).