UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Northeye prison site, once considered for asylum accommodation, will now be converted into housing as part of Labour’s housing target.
As reported by The Telegraph, an asbestos-laden, derelict prison is set to be transformed into a residential project. Authorities’ plans to accommodate asylum seekers at the site were scrapped due to health risks. The redevelopment will now see hundreds of new homes under the revised plan.
What’s next for Northeye prison after asylum plan collapse?
Discussions are underway between Homes England and the Home Office for the acquisition of the former Northeye prison site in East Sussex. The property was initially acquired by the Home Office in 2023 under the Conservative government for £15.4 million.
The government intended to accommodate up to 1,400 asylum seekers at Northeye, reducing the £8 million daily expense of hotels.
Site assessments confirmed that the Northeye site was contaminated with asbestos, making it unfit for use. The renovation costs for removing asbestos were expected to exceed £20 million.
Was the Home Office’s Northeye purchase a costly mistake?
The Home Office faced sharp criticism from the National Audit Office in November for its rushed purchase of the Northeye site, stating that officials had “cut corners” and made “a series of poor decisions.”
Last month, the Public Accounts Committee described the deal as an “unacceptable waste” of public funds. The Home Office spent more than double the £6 million price the owner had paid just a year earlier.
Is Homes England taking over Bexhill redevelopment?
The Bexhill-on-Sea site is expected to be managed by Homes England, which will first clear contamination and demolish necessary structures before seeking private developers for housing construction.
How did the Home Office respond to plans for the Northeye site?
A spokesman for the Home Office stated,
“We are in talks with Homes England to explore the potential for alternative uses of the Northeye site, securing the site’s future and will update in due course where appropriate given commercial sensitivities.”
How did Northeye Prison transition from a WWII RAF base to a housing site?
The Northeye site, once a Royal Air Force radio station during World War II, was converted into a prison in 1969. A riot by inmates led to a fire that destroyed more than a third of the site in 1986.
After its closure in 1992, the prison was reopened to house a reduced inmate population. It was purchased by the UAE in 1992, which utilized it as a military training base until 2010.
How has Sir Keir Starmer’s 1.5m homes target begun?
As part of his 1.5 million homes target for 2029, Northeye will be repurposed. The Prime Minister has pledged to construct the “biggest building boom in a generation” by removing obstacles to home construction.
What did Andrew Carter say about housing targets and planning challenges?
Andrew Carter, the CEO of the Centre for Cities, stated,
“The UK’s big cities are the jobs and productivity engines of the economy but our planning system doesn’t allow – and has never allowed – them to build an adequate supply of homes for everyone that could work there.”
He added,
“What we can’t do is raise national economic growth – and reduce the strain high housing costs place on people’s spending power – if we don’t address the backlog of missing homes.”
What did the government spokesperson say about housing plans and targets?
A government spokesman stated,
“Despite the dire housebuilding inheritance we are trying to fix, we will deliver the 1.5m homes our country desperately needs and get Britain building again.”
They said,
“To get there, the Government has already outlined plans to streamline the planning system, restored mandatory housing targets, established a programme to unblock homes stuck in the planning process, and set up a new body to deliver the next generation of new towns.”
The spokesperson added,
“On top of this our Planning and Infrastructure Bill will go even further in overhauling the planning system to boost housebuilding and economic growth across the country.”