Yet another new Titan prison

Work with offenders on more evidence that the government is serious about expanding the prison estate

Just two weeks after announcing its plans to build a new prison in Chorley, the Ministry of Justice has today published a public consultation document for another super-sized prison, this time in Market Harborough.

The choice of Market Harborough is straightforward, the idea is to build the new prison on land next to HMP Gartree. It is clear that the government’s strategy is to build new prisons next to existing ones (the Chorley prison is being built next to HMPs Garth & Wymott) to reduce public opposition and time-consuming planning applications which can take many years since few local communities wish to have a prison built near them.

HMP Gartree is a medium-sized category B prison in Leicestershire with an operational capacity of 719 prisoners. Built mostly in the 1960s, it is unusual in that it holds only prisoners serving indeterminate sentences, 90% of whom are serving a life sentence.

The proposed new prison is also a Category B Training prison which will hold a total of 1,715 prisoners, designed to have seven residential blocks holding about 240 male prisoners each.

The consultation documents makes it clear that the design will be very different  from existing prisons; here are some of the main design features:

• The prison will have 7 separate house blocks (or living accommodation). Each prison block will have 4 floors, with around 60 prisoners on each floor, making a total of around 240 prisoners in each block. The overall capacity of the prison is 1,715. The MoJ says that this prison block design will offer men the chance to live in smaller groups than they do in some older prisons. The hope is that this will create a sense of community that will lead to less violence and better relations with staff.
• Each floor will have room for group activities. Men will be able to meet for training, prayer, fitness and to talk to each other.
• Most cells will hold one prisoner although there will still be a “few cells” designed to hold two prisoners. As a reflection of our ageing prison population, the MoJ says that “many cells will be set up for prisoners with a disability”. It is good to know that all cells will have their own shower and toilet.
• Cells and landings will be designed to make technology easier to access. Cells will be able to have a phone so prisoners can talk to family and legal representatives directly without the need to queue and have personal and confidential calls in a public space. Cells or landings will be set up to allow prisoners access services such as healthcare through a digital device.

Other details provided include a visitors’ hall which will allow visitors for up to 50 prisoners at a time with an additional outdoor visits area. The new prison will also have workshops (including both heavy and light industry) and space outside for gardening including polytunnels. There will also be small sports pitches.

This design is being used for most of the new prisons. HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire is due to accept its first prisoner in early 2022, the prison will be run by the private operator G4S with an initial 10-year contract.  The new prison at Glen Parva in Leicestershire will be ready in 2023, it will also be run by an as yet un-named private operator.  The MoJ is also about to start building work next to Full Sutton Prison in Yorkshire where outline planning permission has been granted.

As we have noted before, the government strategy is to build very large prisons which boast much cheaper running costs on a per-prisoner basis. This puts the government in direct opposition to many justice reformers who are strongly opposed to these new super-sized “Titan” prisons which are notoriously difficult to run safely and inevitably mean that the majority of prisoners are held many miles from home, making family ties hard to maintain and resettlement plans difficult to achieve.