Government still want to build huge new 721,000 square foot prison for nearly 1,500 inmates near Aylesbury

The government has said it still planning to build a new prison near Aylesbury to help ease overcrowding in British jails.

A new category C jail near Grendon Underwood in North Buckinghamshire is one of three new facilities the government is pursuing, Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Wednesday.

The Planning Inspectorate approved the facility last year after the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) appealed Buckinghamshire Council’s rejection of a new prison, which received major opposition from residents and politicians.

The 67,000 square metre (721,000 square foot) prison would house up to 1,468 inmates and be built on MoJ-owned land beside the Grendon (category B secure) and Springhill (category D open) prisons, off Springhill Road.

Two other new prisons are also being planned by the government at HMP Gartree in Leicestershire and HMP Garth near Leyland.

The three new prisons are part of a ‘record’ prison expansion, Mahmood said on Wednesday as she outlined how the government would alleviate pressure on the country’s prison system.

Cells are 99 per cent full and the government predicts that jails will be full again in November, unless action is taken.

Mahmood said: “The Treasury will fund our prison expansion plans in full across the spending review period. This is a total capital investment of £4.7 billion.

“It allows us to start building three new prisons including breaking ground on a site near HMP Gartree later this year.”