The three new, four-storey houseblocks at HMP Highpoint will boost its capacity by more than 50% – and is the latest step in Government action to create safer streets.
The houseblocks will include innovative workshops and teaching facilities to train prisoners with skills to secure a job on release and turn their backs on crime for good. The new cells will be fully operational by summer 2027.
The construction is a significant milestone in the Government’s plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031 to lock up dangerous offenders and keep the public safe. Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said:
“This government is fixing the broken prison system it inherited – wasting no time in getting shovels in the ground to deliver the spaces needed to protect the public.
These new houseblocks have been designed with a laser-focus on cutting crime and are a major step in our plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031.
But we cannot simply build our way out of this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can lock up dangerous offenders, cut crime and make our streets safer.”
HMP Highpoint Prison Governor Nigel Smith said:
“The expansion at Highpoint will provide much-needed prisoner places in our region.
The new accommodation will provide a safe and secure environment for us to rehabilitate prisoners and get them ready for release.
We are pleased that the construction work has officially begun and we look forward to working with our contractors to get things delivered.”
The build will be delivered by Wates Group, a family-owned development, building and property maintenance company. Once completed Highpoint will be the largest prison in terms of land size in North-West Europe and the largest in the UK based on prisoner population.
The development is part of the government’s 10-year prison capacity strategy published in December. It includes 6,400 places through new houseblocks and 6,500 places via new prisons. One thousand rapid deployment cells will be rolled out across the estate while more than 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.
A 1,500-capacity prison in Yorkshire, HMP Millsike, will be opened in the coming weeks. The government is investing £2.3 billion to deliver these prison builds, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.
The strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.
