| General Details | Inspections |
| Regimes | Visits and getting there |
| Work and Education | Local News |
General Information
| Name or Prison | HMP Highpoint |
| Address: | Stradishall, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 9YG |
| Other contact details: | |
| Web Site: | |
| Email: | |
| Main switchboard: | 01440 743100 |
| At Risk hotline: | |
| Fax: | 01440 743092 |
| Visits booking number: | 01440 743134 |
| Visits booking web: | www.gov.uk/prison-visits |
| Visits booking email: | SocialVisits.highpoint@hmps.gsi.gov.uk |
| Type of Prison: | Male Cat C |
The #1 governor is Nigel Smith, who has been in charge since September 2013, and Highpoint is run by HMPS as part of the East of England region. It has a capacity of 1,308
Highpoint, in Suffolk, is a Category C training and resettlement prison currently holding around 1,300 men. It is in the middle of a major expansion, adding around 700 further places across three new houseblocks due to be fully operational by summer 2027, which will make it the largest public-sector prison in the UK by prisoner numbers.
Its most recent full inspection, in October 2023, found the prison falling short of its stated purpose in several areas: illicit drugs were easily available and linked to violence, debt and bullying; only around a third of scheduled one-to-one “key work” sessions with staff were actually delivered over a six-month period; teaching quality in English and maths was poor with low accreditation rates; and support for foreign national prisoners, including access to interpreters and free legal advice, was limited. Inspectors also found weak coordination of resettlement services and public protection arrangements.
Given the scale of the planned expansion, families may want to ask how building works are affecting day-to-day conditions, alongside using the practical visiting and contact details above.