HM Prison Oakwood
HMP Oakwood
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| Location | Featherstone, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire |
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| Coordinates | 52°38′48″N 2°06′55″W / 52.646640°N 2.115241°WCoordinates: 52°38′48″N 2°06′55″W / 52.646640°N 2.115241°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Category C |
| Capacity | 1,605 |
| Opened | April 2012 |
| Former name | Featherstone 2 |
| Managed by | G4S |
HM Prison Oakwood, is a Category C prison in the village of Featherstone, Wolverhampton, in Staffordshire, England. First opened in April 2012, the prison is operated by G4S and was aimed to be in full operation by autumn 2012. Originally called Featherstone 2, and designed to be a titan prison, it was downsized to hold up to 1,605 prisoners with construction starting in August 2009 and built in a modular fashion, the first time this had been done in the UK. Following the announcement that it would be contracted out to a private company along with HMP Birmingham, the Prison Officers Association threatened industrial action. The prison received heavy criticism following a snap inspection by HM Inspector of Prisons. A report published by the inspectorate in October 2013 identified several issues of concern, including a high level of violence at the jail.
Projected initially as being a titan prison, and holding up to 2,500 offenders, it was downsized following the cancellation of the titan scheme. It was estimated at costing around £180million, and described in the press as a "superprison", the prison is located next to existing prisons HMP Featherstone and HMYOI Brinsford and is being constructed by Kier Build. Building the prison at that location required additional road remodelling to cope with an anticipated additional 1,400 rush hour journeys down local roads. The A460 Cannock Road was remodelled at the junction with New Road in Featherstone, but the local council was criticised in the local press for not going far enough with the changes.
Pre-construction on the prison site began in August 2009. The prison is the first to be built in a modular fashion in the UK, with pre-construction sections put it in place that contain plumbing, electricity and fire alarm systems. The modules first arrived in February 2010, which formed the energy centre for the project. Once completed, the prison will comprise three house blocks and 13 other buildings.
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