HMP Five Wells, also referred to as Wellingborough Prison or HMP Wellingborough, due to it being built on same site as the latter, is a Category C men's

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, located in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. With a maximum capacity of 1,680, it is the largest prison in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

, and one of the largest in the UK. The prison is operated by

G4S G4S is a British Multinational corporation, multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a ran ...

History

It was announced in June 2018 that a new category C prison would be built in Wellingborough on the site of the now demolished

HM Prison Wellingborough HM Prison Wellingborough was a Category C men's prison, located in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England. The prison was previously operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and was retained as reserve site for use in the event of other priso ...

, which was closed in 2012. In 2020, it was announced the prison would be called "HMP Five Wells", as voted for by Wellingborough residents. The 9 buildings of the prison took 45 weeks to build and were completed in late 2020, costing £253,000,000. The first inmates arrived at the prison in early 2022. In January 2023, videos were released online of inmates smoking

Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

and taking shots of alcoholic drinks including different varieties of vodka and rum held in inconspicuous bottles, most notably a Robinsons juice bottle. This furtherly perpetuated the controversy and criticism surrounding the prison, as well as of G4S.

Criticism

There were various forms of protest about the construction of the prison, including graffiti around Wellingborough town, and most notably a protest in April 2021 outside the prison in which people concreted their arms together, preventing construction vehicles and deliveries entering the prison. This resulted in five arrests due to protesters allegedly becoming hostile to staff and police. The protest was targeted towards the prison's constructor,

Kier Group Kier Group plc is a British construction, services and property group active in building and civil engineering, support services, and the Private Finance Initiative. Founded in 1928 in Stoke-on-Trent it initially specialised in concrete enginee ...

. Multiple protests similar to this occurred throughout the prison's construction.

References

External links

{{Prisons in the East Midlands Wellingborough