More than £269 million has already gone to businesses within 50 miles of the Market Harborough site, which has created 501 jobs and will take its first prisoners at the start of 2029.
Prisons Minister Catherine McKinnell has welcomed a major construction milestone at HMP Welland Oaks, the new 1,700-place prison in Leicestershire, after the final building beam was installed and structural works were completed.
Work can now begin on the prison's security and rehabilitation features, including the latest counter-drone technology and illicit mobile phone blocking to stop drugs and other contraband getting in and to clamp down on the organised crime gangs behind them. Several workshops will give prisoners the skills and education they need to leave crime behind.
Catherine McKinnell: 'Making our streets safer'
"We are getting on with the job of building the prison places needed to lock up dangerous criminals and keep the public safe," the minister said. "These new prison places will have tough, modern security to tackle drones, drugs and other contraband, as well as new workshops that give offenders the skills to turn their backs on crime."
"We've already delivered 3,300 places across the country and are investing billions to build thousands more, creating jobs, cutting reoffending and making our streets safer," she said.
Jobs for the East Midlands
The category B prison for adult men, being built by Wates Construction in Market Harborough next to HMP Gartree, is due to receive its first prisoners at the start of 2029. As of September, 501 jobs had been created on site, 29 apprentices had worked on the project and 36 prison leavers had been given new skills, while more than £269 million, over 85% of spending so far, had gone to businesses within 50 miles.
Welland Oaks is part of the largest prison building programme since the Victorian era, with 14,000 additional places to be delivered by 2031, after just 500 net places were added in the 14 years to July 2024. The government will soon sign a contract for the next phase of a new 1,500-place prison in Buckinghamshire, and has brought forward £110 million to convert unused space such as offices, laundries and storage areas into cells.
