Kier has been confirmed by the Ministry of Justice as the main contractor for the construction of a new prison at Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire. Scheduled to start next month, work on the 1,680-place category C resettlement development is due to be completed by autumn 2021.

The new prison will be built on the same site as the former HMP Wellingborough, which closed in 2012. A price of £253 million (excluding VAT) for its design and construction has now been agreed with Kier, announced the minister.

“I am committed to the building of up to 10,000 modern and decent prison places to replace old, expensive and unsuitable accommodation, and the start of work at Wellingborough is an important step forward. Providing offenders with decent conditions and regimes is absolutely key to turning their lives around and ultimately keeping the public safe,” commented Prisons minister Rory Stewart.

The development at Wellingborough is part of the government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme. Also part of the programme are another new facilitt at the former Glen Parva & Young Offender Institution (YOI) in Leicestershire and a new house block at HMP Stocken, in Rutland.

“We’re very proud to have been appointed to deliver the new resettlement prison at Wellingborough and look forward to working closely with the MoJ and using our experience in new-build prison programmes to deliver first-class rehabilitation facilities,” added Mark Pengelly, executive director of Kier Major Projects.