Old prison arches scrapped from new design

Friday 23 November 2018

Iconic granite arches from Jersey’s notorious former jail were included in early plans for an £8.3million upgrade to the prison, but were cut from the final design, it has emerged.

Since its closure in the 1970s, blocks of granite from the 18th century façade of Newgate Street Prison have been hidden in a ‘secret’ location to stop the stones being stolen.

In the 40 years since then, islanders have repeatedly called for it to be put to good use. In the 70s, they were due to be used as part of the island's Magistrate's Court, but the project was shelved. More recently in 2016, former Infrastructure Minister, Deputy Eddie Noel, proposed that it be featured on the roundabout above the underpass, but the project stalled as his department didn’t have enough money.

Meanwhile, some locals have suggested resurrecting the arches at the current prison site as it undergoes a major redevelopment to bring it into the modern day – and it seems those ideas were taken on board, but only for a limited time.

A report prepared by the architects behind the latest proposed upgrade to La Moye’s staff and visitor block showed that the arches featured in early plans, but were later dropped.

A States spokesperson explained to Express that the arches "were drawn up for consideration at the concept stage of the project", but that their inclusion in the redevelopment of La More "would have required extra structural work (a colonnade) which would have been costly and may have compromised the amount of daylight getting into the building.

"It would also have detracted from the open vista that you would, for security reasons, expect at the main entrance of a prison."

The discovery comes after the report and images of the proposed build were made public last week following an appeal to the Planning Department by Express. 

Prison officials had originally intended to keep all plans for the prison secret over security fears, but Planning agreed that there was a “wider responsibility on the [Planning] department to publish whatever we can, which is of a low security risk.”

Pictured: One of the design options for the prison featuring the Newgate Prison arches. (HMP La Moye/IBI Group)

Although the report does not disclose the specific details of the inner workings of the development, it does elaborate on the necessity for the new gatehouse as well as explaining what facilities will be housed in the new block.

It explained that one of the key aims of the proposed new gatehouse, which is still awaiting Planning approval, was making the prison a less daunting building by reducing the “intimidating frontage.”

“The proposal seeks to present a more positive frontage to the prison, rather than a bland institutionalised boundary,” it read.

The need for the demolition of the current works building and the development of a new gatehouse was also explained, justified by the fact that “the current access to the prison is via the north-western corner of the site”, which was not said to be “user-friendly”.

Pictured: Images of how the HM Prison La Moye could look if the £8.3million upgrade is approved.

Described as “a high priority for the prison service”, the suggested works also plan to allow for more office space and storage, with lightweight partitions dividing areas for increased flexibility in working.

Under States Chief Charlie Parker’s new ‘One Gov’ plans, some of this space has been earmarked for use as a “satellite” office for civil servants, so that they don’t lose work time travelling back to town if they have been in the west of the island.

The new building is also designed “to be easily accessible to all users including those with mobility impairments.”

Green thinking was also said to be incorporated into the design.

Pictured: It is hoped that the new gatehouse will make the prison appear less intimidating.

It is proposed that the new gatehouse will be constructed from environmentally sustainable materials “that can be sourced locally, contain zero or low pollutants and can be recycled at the end of their use.” 

The application has been submitted to the Planning Department, who will consider the proposal and make a decision as to whether or not it should be allowed to go ahead.

Members of the public are invited to make comments on it on the Planning Register website.

Lead photo: Newgate Street Prison. (Island Wiki/Mike Bisson)