Barlinnie super prison replacement designed to 'look like student flats'

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has sent an application to Glasgow City Council’s planning department for the estimated £100million development, close to the Provan gas works.

The new facility, HMP Glasgow, is planned to accommodate adult male offenders in blocks “designed to appear like an office development or student accommodation”, with other sections planned to incorporate an “inviting and friendly outward face”.

A statement provided in the planning application accepts that the current Bar-L prison in Riddrie is “no longer fit for purpose.”

It added that the intention is to “close and dispose” of the site at Barlinnie.

READ MORE: 'New Barlinnie' super prison planned for Provanmill

It reads: “The existing prison has been criticised for overcrowding and a lack of facilities in various reports by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland and these issues will be addressed as part of the proposals

“By replacing an old and unfit prison, HMP Glasgow will provide a fit-for-purpose community facing prison, which supports the Government’s objective of reducing the risk of prisoners reoffending on release from custody.”

The site was first identified by SPS’ consultants, Colliers International, back in July 2014 with around 40 other locations being looked at since then.

However it was confirmed in February last year that the north east Glasgow site was the only place currently being considered.

At the time, a spokesperson told MSPs: "We expect, with a fair wind, that we should have a new Barlinnie by the end of 2024, perhaps 2025.”

The Provanmill site has become iconic for its striking gas towers visible from the M8 motorway.

The site is also close to where notorious gangsters Arthur Thompson and Paul Ferris operated in the 20th century.

On the other side of the M8, the Provan gas works borders the infamous Royston Road, where Arthur Thompson’s son was shot and killed in 1991.

Nine years later, his son Billy was stabbed in the same area.

But the SPS hopes the new facility will help “encourage family visits and contact”, with the location easing and facilitating the sometimes lengthy journeys made by family members.

The proposed site is only 1km from Barlinnie and “well positioned” to take inmates from across the Glasgow courts.

The site had been laid empty for 20 years, with the application adding it is “an ideal size for the proposed development which will remove the longstanding image of dereliction”.

The plan also includes a family centre, with a model that would allow the facilities to be used for community use.

The statement added:"The elevation is proposed to be predominantly glazed to create an open, inviting and friendly outward face.

"The house-blocks have been designed to appear like an office development or student accommodation, with care being taken to break up long facades with vertical elements and material changes.

“The security of the development has been carefully considered and discreetly incorporated into the built form along Royston Road, lessening the potential imposing impact.”

It is not yet clear when a decision on the proposals will be made by the council.