The new buildings will sit opposite the existing HMP Full Sutton and have cell space for 1,400 prisoners. It will be a separate facility, with its own identity and name.
This will be the third of six prisons to be completed as part of the New Prisons Programme, following HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough (also built by Kier and opened in February) and HMP Fosse Way (being built by Lendlease – see photo below) in Glen Parva, Leicestershire, which is due to open next year.
The £400m contract price for the latest prison dwarfs the £253m that was the agreed build price for Five Wells and £170m for Fosse Way.
The new Category C prison at Full Sutton will be designed from top-to-bottom with the latest smart technology to cut crime and protect the public, the Ministry of Justice said.
The jail will have more workshops and classrooms than other prisons to help reduce recidivism and at least 50 construction roles are being earmarked for ex-offenders.
It will also be the first new prison to operate as zero-carbon in the future, with an all-electric design, solar panels, heat pumps and energy-efficient lighting systems.
Kier Construction managing director Liam Cummins said: “Delivery of the new prison at Full Sutton represents over a decade of Kier operating as a successful partner to the Ministry of Justice and highlights our ongoing commitment to the New Prisons’ Programme.
“This project will create hundreds of jobs as well as providing opportunities for prisoners on release, and we’re proud to give people the opportunity to work with us to deliver a best-in-class facility built on modern methods of construction and engineering excellence.”
The process of naming the new prison at Full Sutton will be confirmed in due course, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the locations for the remaining three prisons in the programme have yet to be finalised.
The photograph below, taken in July 2022, shows the current state of construction of HMP Fosse Way at Glen Parva. The three- and four-storey building in the centre are temporary and house Lendlease's site offices and site welfare facilities.
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