Prison’s solar panels and wildflowers to unshackle biodiversity

THE first net-zero prison is to be built at a cost of £400 million with energy generated from solar panels and wildflower meadows to promote biodiversity, the Ministry of Justice will announce today.

The MOJ has signed the contract to start work on a new prison in east Yorkshire that will operate as zero carbon, with an all electric design that eliminates the need for gas boilers, and has heat pumps and more efficient lighting to reduce energy demand.

During construction, 40,000 tons of carbon will be saved by using recycled concrete and steel to construct the 1,400-offender jail that will open in 2025. It will also have habitats for wildlife including grassland, woods and wetlands cultivated to promote biodiversity and ensure the local ecology is stronger than before construction began. It is the first of four next-generation prisons to be built over the next six years and in addition to heat pumps they will have thousands of solar panels to cut fuel bills by half and carbon emissions by at least 85 per cent compared with current designs.

The Category C jail will be focused on rehabilitation with workshops and classrooms designed to ensure prisoners learn new skills to help them find work on release. It is likely to be modelled on two new “resettlement” prisons at Glen Parva and Five Wells, where offenders are known as residents, cells are called rooms and there are no bars on the windows.

They are part of a group of new “super prisons” that aim to revolutionise the penal regime by putting rehabilitation, work and training at the heart of the institution.

At least 50 construction roles at the new east Yorkshire prison at Full Sutton will be earmarked for ex-offenders to give them the chance to gain new skills and rebuild their lives. The new £400million contract for the prison was signed yesterday with construction firm Kier, who will build it.

Stuart Andrew, the prisons minister, said: “I am delighted work can begin on yet another modern, innovative prison that will skill-up untold numbers of offenders to live a crime-free life while making our streets safer ... the new prison at Full Sutton will also support hundreds of jobs, representing a major boost to Yorkshire’s economy.”