More details on new men's prison near HMP Full Sutton
The Category C prison would house nearly 1,400 inmates.
Detailed plans for a new men’s prison with room for 1,440 inmates in an East Riding village have been submitted.
Plans from the Ministry of Justice for the Category C prison, off Moor Lane near the maximum security HMP Full Sutton, have been lodged with East Riding Council.
The plans showed the complex would feature 12 buildings in total, down from 17 proposed previously, including six four storey cell blocks, a workshop, care unit and sports pitches.
But the latest plans come after 3,156 residents objected to earlier proposals over more traffic from staff and visitors, security and whether it could be screened from view.
The prison’s category rating is the lowest of the Ministry of Justice’s security grading.
The proposals are part of a wider £1.3bn Ministry of Justice push to modernise England’s prisons estate to create 10,000 new places, first unveiled in 2015.
The Ministry’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme, launched by then Justice Secretary Liz Truss, set out plans for new facilities designed to cut re-offending and offer more rehabilitation for inmates.
The new prison at Full Sutton would be the first of four new sites, with building set to start in July 2022 and finish by 2025 if plans are approved.
The Ministry of Justice stated it would serve as a template for new prisons built in the future if it gets the go ahead.
Initial or outline plans for the prison were first approved by councillors in September 2019.
Planning documents stated the prison had been designed to “reflect normal life” for inmates in a campus environment which would be secure and monitored.
The buildings have a combined floor space of 56,7705sqm, with the number cut from 17 to 12 following the resign of some of them.
The proposals feature “quiet gardens” for contemplation and outdoor exercise facilities.
Parts of the prison would be accessible to visitors and plans also feature a children’s play area for inmates’ families.
Each of its cell blocks would be 14m tall, have a multi use games area attached and be positioned to reduce noise.
Plans also stated a total of 17,770 native trees and shrubs would be planted around the site, with 20 per cent of them evergreen.
They stated planting around parts of the site would gradually help reduce visibility “significantly” as plants mature.
The Ministry’s Statement of Community Involvement showed the most common issue raised by locals was the impact of traffic in the village which they felt lacked enough public transport links.
Concerns were also raised over whether local sewage and drainage systems could cope with the site, increased noise, recruiting prison staff and village visitors’ “fear of crime”.
The Ministry stated in response: “The proposed prison will be the Ministry’s lowest category of secure prison, and is subject to lower security requirements.
“As such, the proposed lighting will be mounted lower than at HMP Full Sutton.
“The Ministry does not consider that there is any significant potential for overlooking from upper floors of house blocks into any residential property.
“A transport assessment concluded that having regarded to anticipated staff movements, the capacity of the visitor centre and likely numbers of visits per week, the number of parking spaces sought would be sufficient.
“The Ministry is not aware of any evidence that the speed limit is being exceeded in Moor Lane.”
Ministry assessments predicted around 85 per cent of staff would travel by car, motorbike or taxi, with 3.2 per cent using buses and the remainder walking or cycling.
Plans also stated soil from construction may be used to create a bund of between 2m to 3.5m to help screen the prison and reduce noise further.