The Government has pledged to build four new prisons including one in Lancashire which had previously been thrown out by planners
The Justice Secretary plans to create 14,000 more prison places in England & Wales amid changes to planning rules
However the Government has admitted that despite the extra places, space could still run out
The new prison for Lancashire will hold 1,715 inmates on the border of Chorley and Leyland on land close to HMP Garth and HMP Wymott.
Ulnes Walton jail was rejected twice by planning authorities, however Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said she disagreed with the conclusions of the planning inspector and instead granted the plans.
Nationally as part of its Plans for Change, 000 makeshift cells with a lifespan of 15 years will also be built – and another 1,000 cells will be refurbished.
The Conservatives Government has built a third of the 20,000 prison places it committed to create by mid-2020s according to a report by the National Audit Office which came out last week but warned that The new date for completing the remaining places is 2031 – five years later than expected – increasing pressure on capacity and costing more.
