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Kier has been awarded £250m worth of contracts to deliver an additional 480 prison places at His Majesty’s Prison Northumberland and HMP Lancaster Farms as part of the small secure houseblocks programme (SSHP) alliance for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Under the contracts, four new houseblocks, new site-wide infrastructure and upgrades to ancillary facilities will be delivered at each prison by early 2027.

The latest additions to Kier’s justice sector portfolio brings to 30 the number of houseblock it will have delivered in recent years for the MoJ and Scottish Prisons Service.

Kier has already completed work at HMP Five Wells and HMP Millsike, and is currently expanding HMPs Elmley, Bullingdon and Channings Wood.

The £200m expansion of HMP Channings Wood in Devon, boosting capacity by 40%, is part of the accelerated houseblocks delivery programme (AHDP) alliance. The handover of the first phase of the project, including new staff facilities, took place recently.

It is all part of the government’s drive to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031.

Rebecca Boundy, Kier Construction’s managing director (justice), said: “We’re proud to be a trusted delivery partner for the government, supporting transformative expansion across the UK prison estate.  We are working in alliance with our partners to focus on repeatability and continuous improvement to drive better performance in delivery and lifecycle costs. Our specialist teams are delivering high-quality, state-of-the-art prison accommodation and facilities that are fit for the future.”

Fiona Parker, deputy director for the small secure houseblocks programme at His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS), said: “The expansions at HMP Lancaster Farms and HMP Northumberland mark a critical step forward in delivering secure, modern, and rehabilitative prison facilities that maintain public protection as part of our wider commitment to increase prison capacity. The new houseblocks and supporting facilities will help ensure prisoners have the opportunity to develop skills.”

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