Construction firm Kier has been appointed to deliver an extra 480 prison places at HMPs Northumberland and Lancaster Farms.

The £250m worth of contracts is part of the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme (SSHP) Alliance for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). 

Four new houseblocks, new site-wide infrastructure and upgrades to ancillary facilities will be delivered at each prison by early 2027.

The latest additions to Kier’s Justice sector portfolio represent its thirtieth houseblock to be delivered in recent years for both the MoJ and Scottish Prisons Service (SPS). 

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Kier has completed the HMP Five Wells and HMP Millsike, and is currently expanding HMPs Elmley, Bullingdon and Channings Wood in support of the UK government’s plans to build 14,000 new prison places, aiming to do so by 2031.

The expansion of HMP Channings Wood is part of the Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery Programme (AHDP) alliance.

Rebecca Boundy, Managing Director (justice) at Kier Construction, said: "We're proud to be a trusted delivery partner for the government, supporting transformative expansion across the UK prison estate.  

"We are working in alliance with our partners to focus on repeatability and continuous improvement to drive better performance in delivery and lifecycle costs.

"Our specialist teams are delivering high-quality, state-of-the-art prison accommodation and facilities that are fit for the future."