Kier has been confirmed as the builder of a new ‘smart’ prison in East Yorkshire 

The construction firm has signed the £400m contract to build the 1,400-place facility at Full Sutton, with work due to start in the autumn.

The site is due to open in 2025.

Following close on the heels of HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough which opened in February this year, the new Category C prison will be designed from top-to-bottom with the latest smart technology to cut crime and protect the public.

The facility will include an array of workshops and classrooms, so prisoners spend their time behind bars learning new skills to find work on release – factors known to significantly reduce reoffending.

It will also be the first new prison to operate as zero carbon in the future, with an all-electric design, solar panels, heat pumps and more efficient lighting systems to reduce energy demand significantly.

The new prison will create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and a further 600 once it opens. 

At least 50 construction roles will be earmarked for ex-offenders - giving them the opportunity to rebuild their lives and gain new skills.

Group managing director of Kier Construction, Liam Cummins, said: “Delivery of the new prison at Full Sutton represents over a decade of Kier operating as a successful partner to the Ministry of Justice and highlights our ongoing commitment to the New Prisons’ Programme. 

“This project will create hundreds of jobs as well as providing opportunities for prisoners on release, and we’re proud to give people the opportunity to work with us to deliver a best-in-class facility built on modern methods of construction and engineering excellence.” 

Prisons minister, Stuart Andrew, added: “I am delighted work can begin on yet another modern, innovative prison that will skill-up untold numbers of offenders to live a crime-free life while making our streets safer.”

The new buildings will sit opposite the existing HMP Full Sutton and will be the third of six prisons to be completed as part of the New Prisons Programme, following HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way in Glen Parva, which is due to open next year. 

Locations for the remaining three are being finalised, and of the four final builds, one will be run by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and three by private operators.