HM Prison Low Moss - Closure and Reconstruction

Closure and Reconstruction

In early January 2007, it was announced that the Scottish Executive had overruled the initial objection by East Dunbartonshire Council for the prison to be totally rebuilt to modern standards under a private finance initiative. However a review by the New Scottish Government later that year called for the original plans to be re-evaluatedas a result the prison is the first new build publicly operated prison to be opened in Scotland for almost 30 years.

The subsequent tendering process, resulted in Carillion being selected as contractor for the new publicly funded prison in May 2009. The replacement prison on completion will be three times the size of the old prison, capable of accommodating 700 inmates with 300 staff in a medium-security facility. Construction on the new prison began in February 2010 and is due for completion in early 2012. Whilst the old prison was operated for low-category prisoners with serving sentences of less than 36 months. The SPS said that the new HMP Low Moss, in common with all new prisons, was built to take the highest category of prisoner as standard. The prison opened its doors in March 2012 and Prisoners are to be phased in over a 10-week period. Though the SPS had been recruiting over the months leading up to the opening, the majority of the staff are to be experienced officers transferring from existing prisons.