George Clarke’s developer unlocks prison-to-resi scheme
A developer fronted by TV presenter and architect George Clarke is bringing forward a residential development at a former prison in Gloucester.
The development at the former HMP Gloucester prison, on Barrack Square, will comprise 202 homes in a combination of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
City & Country will retain the Grade II and II* listed elements from the former HMP Gloucester prison. The developer will convert existing structures into 38 apartments with ground floor commercial use in the main cell and chapel wings. It will retain the existing prison structure and boundary walls, but will add access points.
A developer fronted by TV presenter and architect George Clarke is bringing forward a residential development at a former prison in Gloucester.
The development at the former HMP Gloucester prison, on Barrack Square, will comprise 202 homes in a combination of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
City & Country will retain the Grade II and II* listed elements from the former HMP Gloucester prison. The developer will convert existing structures into 38 apartments with ground floor commercial use in the main cell and chapel wings. It will retain the existing prison structure and boundary walls, but will add access points.
The Ministry of Justice closed the prison in 2013. Planning consent was granted in December 2018. City & Country expects development costs for the full scheme of around £42m.
The 1.8-acre site is located in a region earmarked for residential development, shifting from commercial uses, bringing regeneration to the town.
City & Country is a family-owned business specialising in complex heritage developments. Clarke has worked with the company for eight years as a brand ambassador.
In 2015, the government said it wanted to unleash a “prison building revolution”, with then prisons minister Michael Gove pledging to close inner-city prisons and sell sites for housing, reinvesting profits to help build nine new jails.
The Ministry of Justice was expected to release land with the capacity to build 5,000 homes by 2020. However, a report from the National Audit Office forecasted that it is likely to only achieve 1,300 homes by this point. The department has the second-largest estate of all central government, with a 1.3m sq ft portfolio.
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