Major expansion to make HMP Highpoint the UK’s biggest prison

07 March 2025 , 08:46

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Major expansion to make HMP Highpoint the UK’s biggest prison

A "groundbreaking" expansion at HMP Highpoint will transform it into the UK’s largest prison, with 700 more spaces planned to be added by summer 2027.

Three new, four-storey houseblocks will increase the prison’s capacity by more than 50 percent.

This initiative is part of the government’s effort to provide 14,000 more prison places by 2031 and to get more criminals off the streets.

The project will also include workshops and teaching facilities to equip prisoners with skills to secure employment upon release.

Upon completion, the Suffolk prison will be the largest in terms of land size in Northwest Europe and the largest in the UK based on prisoner population.

The prison population is currently increasing by around 100 people a week.

"We need these cells to accommodate people but also to help turn their lives around, so when they leave, they get a one-way ticket, not a return," Prisons minister Lord James Timpson told LBC.

"When you have people in prison learning skills, they gain confidence, and so when they leave, they have a job guaranteed.

"It’s that guaranteed job which makes a massive difference, because they don’t need to go onto universal credit, it’s easier for them to get housing, and they’re back in the game."

The planned workshops will also help provide inmates with "hope," Lord Timpson explained.

"They know they need a well-paid job upon release that they have the skills to do, so they don’t let their family down again and don’t fall into this cycle of reoffending."

"They’re really enthusiastic about it - you want to see people in prison who have hope and confidence."

HMP Highpoint Prison Governor Nigel Smith 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 prepare them for release.

"We are pleased that the construction work has officially begun, and we look forward to working with our contractors to deliver the project."

Grace Cooper