What happened

The Ministry of Justice has awarded an enabling works contract for a new prison at Ulnes Walton, near Leyland in Lancashire, Construction News and Construction Enquirer reported this week. The scheme, on land adjoining HMP Garth and HMP Wymott, will provide around 1,700 places once complete, with reported costs ranging from £236m to £400m depending on scope. The MoJ has not confirmed the value, but named Kier, Laing O'Rourke and Wates Construction as the three firms carrying out the enabling works package. A main contractor for the full build has yet to be appointed.

The award follows a Ministry of Justice announcement on 1 September of £110m in accelerated funding aimed at speeding up prison construction nationally, part of a stated target to add 14,000 extra prison places by 2031. Some of that funding is earmarked for converting existing space, such as offices, laundries and storage, into cells, alongside money to secure land for future sites. The National Audit Office has previously warned that the wider prison expansion plan was "unrealistic" against its own delivery timetable, which gives this contract added significance as one of the first visible signs of the programme actually moving.

Why it matters

Government-backed justice sector construction has been a comparatively steady source of work through a period when housebuilding and much of the private sector has been under pressure, and this is a concrete instruction against a target the government has been publicly pushed to prove it can deliver. Three established contractors picking up enabling works, ahead of a main contractor appointment, points to further packages following at Ulnes Walton and likely at other sites under the same acceleration funding.

For the North West specifically, it adds another live government scheme to a region already carrying HS2 civils and a run of housing and water investment, which keeps competition for experienced site and commercial staff tight in that patch.

What it means for your career

If you're a QS, planner or site manager with public sector or secure-estate experience, this is a programme worth tracking rather than a one-off. Enabling works contracts typically run for months before the main build package is let, which gives you a window to get in front of Kier, Laing O'Rourke or Wates Construction's justice sector teams before the bigger recruitment push arrives around the main contractor appointment.

Experience with secure environments, MoJ design and technical standards, or prior work on earlier Ministry of Justice prison frameworks will be a genuine differentiator here, since that's a narrower skill set than general public sector building work. Given the government's stated urgency on this programme, expect further contract news, and further hiring, at pace over the coming months.