Across the UK, we have delivered 14 secure facilities providing circa 7,500 additional places for the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Prison Service. To meet the increasing demands for modern, sustainable custodial facilities, our team of experts has been working in a long-term partnership for over 30 years with Serco to deliver projects worth over £500 million, creating over 4,500 additional custodial places.
A UK first for custodial building standards
Skanska has worked with Serco on several similar projects and we have a longstanding relationship with HMP Thameside. At the beginning of 2012 we completed construction of the main prison buildings, followed by delivery of an additional 332 prisoner places through the expansion project in 2015.
During the construction phase of the main prison, the team incorporated sustainable solutions, which resulted in the living unit becoming the first prison building in the country to achieve the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ environmental accreditation – only one per cent of buildings have achieved this in the UK.
Working together delivering high standards
Working in partnership with Serco and the Ministry of Justice, we have developed and delivered an additional project to replace the existing Pharmacy and construct a new Video Court Centre at HMP Thameside, which the team handed over at the beginning of 2021. The work also included the installation of the mechanical, electrical and public health services, carried out by our integrated team of experts.
Our experience of building custodial facilities, enhanced by our extensive knowledge of the existing prison, enabled our team to develop a deliverable solution within existing site constraints, without having an adverse effect on the operation of the prison.
Most of the work was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic – which saw the team overcome significant challenges, minimising delay to the project without compromising on the safety and wellbeing of all involved.