News In Focus
24 March 2006
Consultation favours new prison for Peterhead
A Scottish Prison Service consultation on the future of Peterhead Prison has shown that most stakeholders favour the building of a new jail on the present site.
The SPS had also proposed building a new prison elsewhere in Aberdeenshire or even in the central belt.
The prison, which opened in the1880s, is used for Scotland's sex offenders, but is in need of refurbishment. Should the rebuild be given the green light, the old prison would be demolished and a new prison – costing about £50m – would be built to cater for 500 prisoners.
The SPS is now expected to draw up definite plans for the Scottish Executive to consider.