| HMP Bure | |
|---|---|
| Opened | 30 November 2009[1] |
| Management | HM Prison Service |
| Prison type | Adult Male/Category C |
| Prisoner figures | 523 (March 2010) |
| Location | Badersfield, Norfolk |
| Governor | Sue Doolan |
| Information | www.justice.gov.uk |
HM Prison Bure is a Category C men's prison, located in the parish of Badersfield in Norfolk, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and became operational in November 2009.
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Bure Prison is being established on the domestic site of RAF Coltishall, a former Royal Air Force station, and military airbase. Built for the Second World War, afterwards RAF Coltishall was used for night fighters, and then ground attack aircraft. In its latter years, the base was home to the 'Jaguar Force', before formally closing on 30 November 2006.
During January 2007, the Home Office expressed an interest in using the former RAF base. Initially earmarking the site for a new immigration detention facility, by the end of the year media reports suggested the Home Office were planning to establish a new prison at the site. In January 2009, North Norfolk District Council approved plans to establish a Category C prison at the former airbase.[2] In Auguest 2009, it was revealed that the new prison would be used to primarily hold sex offenders, with capacity for around 500 prisoners.[3]
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has taken temporary control of the entire site of the base while building works are underway. Most of the new prison will be housed at the domestic site in the former airmen's H-blocks, along with the junior ranks mess of the airbase. New dual perimeter fences have also been constructed. Phase one of construction was completed in November 2009, and enabled the prison to hold 259 offenders. Phase two of construction was completed in March 2010, and increased the capacity of the prison to 523.
The prison's name is taken from the nearby River Bure, and was selected in preference to the names of local towns, such as Aylsham, Coltishall and Wroxham after expressions of concern from parish councils and local government.[4]
HMP Bure opened in November 2009. The prison is largely used to hold Category C adult males from the East of England, convicted of sex offences. Residential units for prisoners consist of mainly single-cell accommodation.[5]
Bure's Learning Resource Centre offers various education courses to prisoners, as does the prison's horticulture and recycling departments. Vocational work offered to prisoners includes painting and decorating and industrial cleaning. Other services and organisations which offer support to inmates at the prison include Nacro, Citizens Advice Bureau, Jobcentre Plus and Alcoholics Anonymous.[6]
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