HMP Five Wells opened in February 2022 on the site of the former HMP Wellingborough, which closed in 2012. It was built using modern methods of construction, with around 80% of the design standardised and much of the building made from precast concrete panels, making it one of the fastest prison builds in the country. It was marketed by the government as Britain’s first purpose-built “smart prison”, with in-cell tablets used for education and services, and body scanners at reception intended to intercept contraband before it reaches the wings.
Accommodation
The prison has seven house blocks, each four storeys high, holding men mostly in single cells with in-cell showers. Landings can be subdivided into smaller sections of around 20 prisoners. A Care and Separation Unit is also on site. Because of population pressure, a number of originally single cells have since been converted to double occupancy.