Bill for new Highland prison rises again to almost £140 million with more delays anticipated
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THE new prison for the Highlands is facing months of yet more delays and a huge increase in costs amounting to almost three times what was originally estimated.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed that HMP Highland is now expected to cost just under £140 million – in 2011 its budget was around £52 million but that has steadily risen.
In 2016, the price went up to about £66 million with an operational date of August 2020 but then delays revealed in February 2021 saw the construction bill would be anywhere from £98 million to £110 million.
Now the SPS say that, along with rising costs, it will also be delayed by a further six months with construction to conclude in “late 2024” but this time there is no operational date.
Highland Tory MSP Edward Mountain labelled the latest setback as the “SNP’s decade-long failure” that was “completely avoidable”. A new prison is needed to replace the existing ageing premises in Crown which have been previously assessed as overcrowded.
In April 2021, Mr Mountain questioned the Scottish Government’s commitment to getting the prison operational by 2024 because the draft budget only made £72.8 million available to the SPS for capital projects.
Around £13 million has already been spent on pre-construction work, which started in September 2021 at a site near Inverness Shopping Park, and is currently ongoing – completion is scheduled for spring.
The construction of the prison is expected to begin shortly after that with an anticipated end date of late 2024 – but the SPS could not confirm when the prison would become operational.
The prison service said: “An operational date will be confirmed towards the final stages of the construction phase, whereby SPS will consider all requirements and timescales associated with the opening of HMP Highland.”
Mr Mountain who obtained the latest figures, said: “The cost for the long-delayed prison is rocketing and we are all paying a high price for the SNP’s decade-long failure to deliver this project for the Highlands.
“What is so frustrating is that this situation was completely avoidable.
“Highlanders will remember being promised a new prison back in 2011 and, had it been delivered sooner, we would now have a prison for a fraction of today’s building cost.
“Even worse, another six-month delay has been added to the delivery timeline and the contracts for the main construction have still to be awarded. The Scottish Prison Service can’t even confirm when the facility will be operational either.
“Meanwhile, our hard-working prison staff continue to work in a Victorian prison that is no longer fit for purpose and which has repeatedly struggled with overcrowding.
“This SNP government has been working at a snail’s pace to deliver a modern prison for far too long.”
He renewed his call for work to be sped up, saying: “It’s now time for this project to be fast-tracked before the costs spiral further out of control.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We remain committed to the completion of the new female estate and replacements for HMP Inverness and HMP Barlinnie.
“The anticipated construction completion date for HMP Highland remains 2024 despite the challenging construction environment, which continues to experience delays and supply chain shortages attributable to the pandemic and Brexit.”
A spokesman for SPS said: “The building of the new HMP Highland will allow us to better serve local communities, meet the needs of people in our care, and support our staff.
“There will be enhanced security, greater digital capability, a new Community Connections hub with an enhanced visits area, and modern cell space, enhancing dignity and decency.
“While the project has faced delays
due to a global pandemic, and design changes to meet the Scottish Government’s net zero ambitions; and increased costs due to inflation pressures, we are determined to deliver on these ambitions.
“Work is progressing well. We have not provided an operational date so as to ensure we allow sufficient time for commissioning and that our staff are fully familiar with the new facilities, and there is time for learning, training and development.”
