Need for Cat D places sees expansion plans at Sudbury approved
120 NEW BEDS AND MULTI-FAITH CENTRE TO GO AHEAD
PLANS to expand the capacity of Sudbury Prison have been approved in order to meet a pressing need for extra lower-security spaces.
The application from the Ministry of Justice to build 120 new beds at HMP Sudbury, along with a new multi-faith centre, were approved at a recent Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting.
Overall the plans will see the open prison’s capacity increased by 80, taking it from full capacity at around 580 spaces to around 660.
At last week’s meeting, Tudor Jones, agent for the application, said there was an “imperative need for prison spaces”, including at the Band D HMP Sudbury site – originally a hospital constructed for the United States Air Force.
He said: “At the moment we have not got enough capacity with Category D prisons across the country so therefore we are having men and women in Category A, B and C who could be entitled to go into Category D.
“That is preventing them getting the necessary training and rehabilitation in order for them to be better integrated into society and is also costing the taxpayer more money because we are having to provide them with more security than is needed.”
Mr Jones said: “Overall it is considered that there are many benefits from the proposal. We will be delivering new prison places to meet an identified need.
“There will be improving outcomes
for prisoners which will include improvements to training and provide jobs during the construction phase.”
The new housing blocks would partially sit on the site of an existing block which would be demolished to make way for the project. Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the housing blocks.
Meanwhile, the new multi-faith centre would also be built on the site of an existing centre which will be demolished.
Mr Jones said prisoners would be accompanied by wardens while visiting the multi-faith centre.
Cllr Sue Burfoot had asked that the glass on the multi-faith centre be “obscured” to retain privacy in homes around 100 metres from the site.
Sudbury Parish Council had objected to the proposal, saying its fencing was “unfit for purpose” in some areas.
It said: “Adding to the prison population without a similar increase in provision of security around the site could lead to further incidents of anti-social behaviour and an associated danger for local residents.”
The authority also fears an increase in “illicit parcel drops”, suggesting the multi-faith centre could become a “drop point”.
Several objecting residents also raised concerns around “parcel drops”, calling existing fencing “inadequate”.
Chris Whitmore, the council’s head of planning, said a request from Chesterfield Royal Hospital for £102,000 to offset the impact of the scheme would be rejected because it must identify a project which the money would be used for. The request must also be “reasonably related in scale and kind to the development (being proposed)”.
Mr Whitmore said “for some reason, Chesterfield Royal Hospital are commenting on all our applications seeking monies”.
He urged the hospital to have discussions with the Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group to smooth this out.
The Derbyshire Swift Conservation Project had asked that 10 “swift bricks” – bricks with a hollow chamber to allow bird nesting – are installed on the housing blocks.
Documents submitted with the application say the prison population is forecast to increase over the next decade reaching “unprecedented” levels.
They cite the Conservative manifesto from 2019 as seeking to create 10,000 more prison places, 3,500 of which would be through expansion of existing sites and 6,500 through the creation of four new prisons.