UK alliance starts on first of four NEC4-procured prisons

Kier Construction, a member of Alliance 4 New Prisons, has started building the UK’s first all-electric prison at Full Sutton near Pocklington in East Yorkshire, UK. The Ministry of Justice let the £400 million project through a framework alliance contract incorporating NEC4 terms in August 2022.

Due for completion in 2025, the state-of-theart facility will hold nearly 1500 prisoners. With a combination of solar panels and heat-pump technology, it will be 89% more energy efficient than Britain’s newest prison, HMP Fosse Way at Glen Parva in Leicestershire.

Six new jails

HMP Fosse Way and the new prison at Full Sutton are two of six new adult male jails being delivered for the Ministry of Justice under its New Prisons Programme, which aims to accommodate 10,000 additional prisoners. All but one are being procured using NEC.

Now nearly completed, HMP Fosse Way has been delivered by Lendlease under a £286 million NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option A (target contract with activity schedule). It is due to open in mid-2023.

The next four, worth around £1.2 billion, were let by the Ministry of Justice in July 2022 as a single FAC-1 alliance contract with NEC4 terms to Alliance 4 New Prisons, comprising ISG, Kier, Laing O’Rourke and Wates. This was done through Crown Commercial Service’s construction works and associated services agreement, with NEC Users’ Group gold member Mace appointed as alliance manager.

Alliance members will build one jail each under an NEC4 ECC Option A, starting with Kier at Full Sutton. But they will also collaborate on a common delivery methodology that prioritises modern methods of construction, with standardised components, platform design for manufacture and assembly, and digitisation of construction.

PSC design contract

The designs of the four new prisons are being produced by NEC Users’ Group gold member Pick Everard, part of Perfect Circle. The Ministry of Justice engaged the firm using the Scape Consultancy framework in late 2020 under a £19 million NEC3 Professional Services Contract (PSC).