The UK’s first all-electric prison has officially opened in York, marking a significant milestone in the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) drive to create modern, sustainable facilities that support prisoner rehabilitation.
HMP Millsike, a Category C resettlement prison with a capacity for 1,500 prisoners, forms part of the MoJ’s New Prisons Programme (NPP), one of several programmes which make up the 20,000 prison place programmes which aims to deliver 20,000 new prison places across the country.
Designed with rehabilitation at its core, HMP Millsike will provide prisoners with the skills and training needed to secure employment upon release, supporting the government’s wider efforts to cut reoffending and improve public safety.
Multi-disciplinary consultancy Pick Everard acted as the lead designer on the project, working closely with the MoJ and Kier to deliver an efficient, safe, and secure facility. The consultancy has a long-standing partnership with the MoJ, spanning over two decades, and has been instrumental in shaping the design of multiple prisons, including HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, and HMP Oakwood.
Jenny Curtlin, director at Pick Everard, said: “HMP Millsike sets a new standard for sustainable prison design, incorporating biophilic principles and energy-efficient solutions to create a facility that prioritises rehabilitation. Our work on the New Prisons Programme included developing the reference design—a blueprint that has been successfully used across multiple new prisons. This latest project builds on that foundation, with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation.”
The prison will operate on 70 percent less energy than traditional prison facilities, thanks to air-source heat pumps, solar panels, and energy-efficient lighting systems, generating over 8,500kWh of renewable energy on-site.
HMP Millsike has been designed to provide a safe, secure, and rehabilitative environment, featuring six accommodation blocks, a central services hub, an entrance resource hub, workshops, kitchens, a support building, and a care and separation unit (CASU).
The facility’s innovative approach to prison design reflects the MoJ’s commitment to creating environments that support rehabilitation while reducing the carbon footprint of the justice system.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, said: “This Government is fixing the broken prison system we inherited, delivering the cells needed to take the most dangerous criminals off our streets.
“HMP Millsike sets the standard for the jails of the future, with cutting crime built into its very fabric. It is a huge step in our plan to add 14,000 extra prison places by 2031.
“But building jails only takes us so far in ending this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can always lock up dangerous offenders and make our streets safer.”
With the successful completion of HMP Millsike, the MoJ and Pick Everard continue to drive forward sustainable and rehabilitative prison design, shaping the future of the UK’s custodial estate.
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