HMP Hollesley Bay, near Woodbridge, to keep 92 modular units as prison nears capacity

Hollesley Bay’s bid to keep 92 modular units has been successful as the prison nears capacity.

The proposals were submitted in April last year by Cushman and Wakefield, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to East Suffolk Council for the retrospective retention of 92 modular units at HMP Young Offenders Institute, east of Hollesley village, near Woodbridge.

The units, 80 of which were meant for accommodation, were already onsite for almost three years when the application was granted last Thursday, with the first phase completed in June 2021, and the second in October of the same year.

They were built as part of the Modular Unit Decommissioning and Replacement (MUDR) Project established to decommission older modular units which no longer complied with fire and safety standards.

The approval for the retention of these units came as the latest monthly MoJ figures showed Hollesley Bay was just shy of being at capacity as of March, with an inmate population of 615 compared to its operational capacity of 645.

The planning statement read: “Those units will continue to be used to manage prison capacity pressures whilst permanent places are provided in the estate to offset the losses.”

The approved units are located within the HMP site and are adjacent to over 160 others given permission in June last year.

The council officer’s conclusion read: “The site is spacious and has sufficient land in order to accommodate the development and increased numbers of inmates.”