Expansion of HMP Highpoint near Haverhill, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds under way as it heads towards being UK’s biggest prison

Work to expand a prison near Haverhill by more than 50 per cent and turn it into the largest public sector prison in the UK is now under way.

The first turf was dug last Thursday for the construction of three new, four-storey houseblocks at HMP Highpoint in Stradishall, which is also a few miles from both Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket.

It will increase the prison’s population by 700 and is, says the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), part of the Government’s plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031.

The houseblocks will include innovative workshops and teaching facilities to train prisoners with skills to secure a job on release and turn their backs on crime for good. The new cells will be fully operational by summer 2027.

Lord James Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, said: “This government is fixing the broken prison system it inherited – wasting no time in getting shovels in the ground to deliver the spaces needed to protect the public.

“These new houseblocks have been designed with a laser-focus on cutting crime and are a major step in our plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031.

“But we cannot simply build our way out of this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can lock up dangerous offenders, cut crime and make our streets safer.”

Nigel Smith, HMP Highpoint governor, said: “The expansion at Highpoint will provide much-needed prisoner places in our region.

“The new accommodation will provide a safe and secure environment for us to rehabilitate prisoners and get them ready for release.

“We are pleased that the construction work has officially begun and we look forward to working with our contractors to get things delivered.”

The build will be delivered by Wates Group, and once completed Highpoint will be the largest public sector prison in terms of land size in north-west Europe and the largest in the UK based on prisoner population.

It will help provide an economic boost to East Anglia with hundreds of jobs created during construction and over 200 permanent jobs at the prison once built, claims the MoJ.

Construction alone will bring investment into local businesses with 30 per cent of materials/subcontractors coming from within a 50-mile radius.

Phil Shortman, regional managing director at Wates, said: “We are proud to be involved in the major programme of delivering much-needed prison spaces.

“Through the construction of this project, around 2,000 building components have been crafted in prison workshops, providing meaningful employment opportunities, helping develop valuable skills and supporting brighter futures.

“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the government delivering additional prison capacity with a focus on rehabilitation, sustainability and social value for the local community.”

The development is part of the government’s 10-year prison capacity strategy published in December.

It includes 6,400 places through new houseblocks and 6,500 places via new prisons. One thousand rapid deployment cells will be rolled out across the estate while more than 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.

A 1,500-capacity prison in Yorkshire, HMP Millsike, will be opened in the coming weeks.

The government is investing £2.3 billion to deliver these prison builds, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.

The strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.