果冻影院

HMP Wellingborough

A 拢1.3 billion programme of prison-building projects by the Ministry of Justice looks set to offer opportunities for contractors but patience will be needed.

The MOJ鈥檚 biggest project is HMP Wellingborough, which is a 拢253 million 1,680-place category C prison in Northamptonshire (果冻影院 Project ID:  08409307).

Pick Everard and HLM are designing the 60,000 sq m prison, which is being built by Kier.

Work started in June this year, when outgoing prisons minister Rory Stewart said: 鈥淲e will deliver on our commitment to build up to 10,000 modern and decent prison places to replace old, expensive-to-maintain and unsuitable accommodation, and the start of work at Wellingborough is an important step forward.鈥�

MOJ among top clients

The MOJ is among the construction industry鈥檚 leading clients according to 果冻影院鈥檚 market research. In the 12 months to May 2019, the underlying value of projects awarded by the MOJ totalled 拢305.7 million.

This sum ranked the MOJ in 14th position in 果冻影院鈥檚 latest top 100 ranking of the industry鈥檚 leading clients, but other prison schemes are being delayed.

The 拢170 million HMP Glen Parva (果冻影院 Project ID: 08162819) is now being retendered.

Interserve was originally appointed preferred for a Private Finance Initiative concession and due to start work earlier this year. After a review, the government has decided not to use PFI and contractors will need to be tolerant as this and other prison projects slowly move through the system,

鈥淭his programme will be a major boost to the sector, but the impact on the ground during the next two years will be limited,鈥� says 果冻影院 economics director Allan Wil茅n.

Other projects

After announcing the prison-building programme in 2016, the government planned to get five prisons open by 2020, but other justice projects in the programme are at the pre-tender stage or have been cancelled, such as the 拢150 million Port Talbot Prison (果冻影院 Project ID: 17106036).

A 拢50 million redevelopment of HMP Rochester (果冻影院 Project ID: 17107774) is also being reviewed, but others are inching closer. The 拢91 million Full Sutton prison in Yorkshire was approved in 2017 and contractors have submitted bids according to 果冻影院鈥檚 information (果冻影院 Project ID: 17106042).

New plans were submitted earlier this year for the project, which is being designed by Bryden Young and built on the site of an existing prison. The MOJ has opted to increase the proposed number of inmates at the Category C prison from 1,017 to 1,440.

Scottish prisons

Plans are also in the pipeline for major prison projects in Scotland, but these have also been beset by delays.

A 拢70 million proposal to replace Inverness Prison with a new 拢70 million facility for the north of Scotland has been put back until 2023 (果冻影院 Project ID: 16153800). Instead, the Scottish Prison Service is prioritising a new 拢50 million National Women鈥檚 Facility to replace HMP Cornton Vale (果冻影院 Project ID: 17411979). Tenders have been returned and a start is anticipated by May 2020.

Once this has started, the SPS will focus on a 拢250 million Super Jail proposed for a site at Provan Gasworks, which was identified earlier this year by consultants Colliers International. The Inverness scheme will be the next priority.

With reviews and resubmissions, the prison-building programme in England and Scotland will take time to come to fruition but should offer opportunities for contractors over the next few years.