Prisoners are helping to build 152 new places at HMP Kirklevington Grange in North Yorkshire, gaining hands-on construction experience as the site expands.
The Ministry of Justice project is being delivered using modular construction, allowing much of the work to take place away from the operational prison. Alongside adding capacity to the prison estate, the scheme is opening up practical routes into work for people preparing to return to the community.
More than 85% built offsite
Reds10, the project’s Principal Works Contractor, has started work on three new two-storey accommodation blocks, as well as supporting facilities and infrastructure.
The development will use 181 modules. More than 85% of the accommodation will be completed at a manufacturing site before being transported to HMP Kirklevington Grange for installation.
The approach forms part of the Government’s Rapid Deployment Cells Programme, which uses Modern Methods of Construction to increase prison capacity more quickly than traditional building methods. Manufacturing units away from live custodial environments can also reduce the amount of construction activity taking place inside working prisons.
Building skills alongside new accommodation
Two prisoners are currently working on the foundations at the site, with the possibility of more joining the project as construction progresses.
Reds10 is also employing prisoners released on temporary licence to help manufacture Rapid Deployment Cells for projects across the wider prison estate. Three former prisoners who worked with the company have since secured permanent jobs with the modular construction specialist.
HMP Kirklevington Grange is an open prison for men preparing for release and resettlement in the North East. Employment and vocational training already play an important role at the site, making the construction project a natural fit with its rehabilitation work.
Part of a wider prison-building programme
The Government has committed to providing 14,000 additional prison places by 2031, with 3,300 delivered since July 2024.
Other projects in the North East and Yorkshire include extra accommodation at HMP Northumberland and HMP Humber. The 1,500-place HMP Millsike near York has also recently opened.
Kirklevington Grange is Reds10’s largest Rapid Deployment Cells Programme project so far. Its combination of offsite manufacturing, new public infrastructure and training opportunities means the work is adding prison capacity while helping some participants build experience for life beyond release.
