HM Prison Lindholme

History

The site was originally constructed as RAF Lindholme during the Second World War to house and operate bombers. During the RAF station's lifetime it was home to the RAF Bomber Command Bombing School (BCBS) and also the RAF Navigation School. BCBS moved out in 1972, and RAF Lindholme became a radar installation with its hangars converted for storage, eventually being downgraded to a relief glider landing field and closing altogether shortly thereafter. The site re-opened as a prison in 1985. Most of the original buildings and hangars from the RAF station are still in use as prison accommodation, offices and workshops. In 2000, the old RAF Officers' Mess building (which had been used as a Category D prison wing) was converted into an Immigration Removal Centre.

HMP Lindholme has recently been going through the bid process, a tendering process which initially had looked like Serco were to be given the contract to run the establishment along with HMP Moorlands. Due to irregularities with Serco's other government contracts this is now in doubt. Lindholme is currently one of the most cost-effective prisons with a budget just short of 11 million GBP per year (approximately 1,000 prisoners). Figures were taken from parliamentary questions.

On 14 July 2011, it was announced that HMP Lindholme would be put out to tender, accepting bids from private companies and HM Prison Service for the management of the establishment. In November 2013 it was announced that HMP Lindholme along with the two other contested sites in South Yorkshire would remain in the public sector, ending two years of uncertainty.

In April 2012, the Immigration Removal Centre was closed and converted back to a Category D prison wing. In June 2013 an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons was strongly critical of the Category D wing of the prison (now closed). The report also stated that there were religious tensions at the prison, illegal drugs and alcohol were widely available, and that the needs of disabled inmates were neglected. However the report also stated that much of the training for prisoners was of good quality, and that vocational courses in construction and baking were "outstanding".

Lindholme today

Lindholme holds Cat C male prisoners only. The prison holds Category C convicted males over the age of 21, and a small number of Cat D males awaiting allocation. The prison has the space to hold 1,010 inmates of Certified National Accommodation and an Operational Capacity to the same number.

The Category C site consists of 11 wings, 6 of the which are dormitories that have single and multi-occupancy rooms. 3 wings are relatively new additions to the prison and are single cell occupancy. A further new wing opened in November 2007 with double cells. The Induction Unit has double cells, and a purpose built Care and Separation Unit was built in 2008.

The prison education department offers inmates opportunities to study for qualifications such as NVQs, GCSEs and A Levels in subjects including English, math, ESOL, information technology, business administration, graphic design, reprographics and printing, visual art, catering, baking, hospitality, hairdressing and barbering, industrial cleaning, construction industry training in trowel trades, plastering, painting and decorating, carpentry, plumbing, civil engineering, fork lift training, light engineering, railway engineering, horticulture, waste management, textiles, and a range of PE courses.