Plans unveiled for super-size prison

PLANS HAVE been submitted for a super-size prison near York holding more than 1,400 prisoners.

Proposals for a £91m jail for 1,000 men, next to HMP Full Sutton, were approved in 2017 by East Riding Council, despite opposition.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has since increased the number of prisoners to be held at the Category C jail by another 423.

The proposals are part of reforms, aiming to create 10,000 new prison places across England and Wales. The planning application submitted to East Riding Council, states that since outline planning permission was granted the MoJ has reviewed the “level and distribution of strategic need for new Adult Male Category C provision”.

The application added that the MoJ has concluded the capacity of the new prison should increase from 1,017 to 1,440.

Concerns have already been raised at drop-in events over the amount of traffic to the jail – which would employ 720 people – particularly on Moor Lane.

Locals are also worried about the height of some of the fourstorey buildings, as well as noise during construction and lighting.

It comes as new X-ray body scanners are being installed at prisons in Yorkshire allowing staff to search for drugs and other contraband concealed inside inmates’ bodies.

HMP Leeds is the first of 10 sites described as being among the most challenging jails in the country where the equipment has been installed.

Scanners will be introduced at jails, including Hull and Humber, in the coming months.

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Hogg, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead on prison intelligence, said yesterday he feared organised criminals were getting their associates or family members jobs in the prison service with the intention of sneaking illegal items behind bars.