The Government has given the all-clear to build a £300m new Category B super prison in Leicestershire.

Michael Gove, Secretary for Levelling Up and Housing rejected the planning inspector’s recommendation that he should refuse planning for the 1,700-inmate HMP Gartree 2 prison.

The Goverment said the pressing demand for more modern prison places, creation of jobs, and benefits of improved bioversity from the project outweighed concerns about the local development plan not allowing for such a large-scale project.

Builder Wates is understood to be inline to build the planned Category B prison on land adjacent to the existing HMP Gartree, near Market Harborough.

The 74,500 sq m prison will be delivered in several phases. The site will initially need demolition of existing buildings and structures, together with associated engineering works.

It will consist of seven four-storey house blocks, each containing around 245 prisoners, two big workshops alongside a general services hub.

In support of the project the Ministry of Justice has argued that six new prisons need to be built – including Gartree – to keep up with demand, and warned the the system was operating at 97.5% capacity.