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Wates appointed for £300m Suffolk prison expansion
Cristina Lago Deputy Editor
Wates will expand the prison using MMC (Image: Roger Cornfoot via Wikimedia Commons)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has appointed Wates to deliver a £300m expansion programme at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk.
The project includes creating 741 category C prison places in three four-storey houseblocks using modern methods of construction (MMC).
As well as these new houseblocks, the scheme will feature ancillary facilities including a healthcare building, a multipurpose workshop, additional kitchen space to service the whole prison, and upgrades to several existing buildings including the gym and gatehouse.
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Mace, Pick Everard, Baker Hicks, Gleeds and Prism Offsite Manufacturing are also involved in the scheme.
Wates said the project would also deliver “a substantial amount” of social value through apprenticeships, jobs for prison leavers, training and upskilling of prisoners and services to the local community.
Phil Shortman, regional managing director for the MoJ at Wates, said: “Through the construction of this project, around 2,000 building components have been crafted in Ministry of Justice workshops, providing meaningful employment opportunities, helping develop valuable skills and supporting brighter futures.”
The new prison wings are due to be completed in summer 2027.
The programme is part of the government’s programme to increase prison capacity. The MoJ has adopted an MMC approach for the Prison Estate Transformation Programme to deliver the new prisons faster and more efficiently.
In 2022, Wates and Kier were awarded a £500m contract to build new houseblocks at six prisons to accommodate more than 2,200 offenders.
The January/February 2026 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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