PCE Appointed Superstructure & Façade Specialist for HMP Gartree
PCE has been appointed by Wates to deliver the superstructure and façade for the new Category B prison at HMP Gartree, Market Harborough. The facility will comprise seven houseblocks, a Care & Separation Unit, and an entrance building, assembled from more than 14,000 precision-engineered components manufactured offsite.
This award reinforces PCE’s position as a trusted delivery partner for the UK’s New Prison Programme, following major roles at HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, HMP Millsike and further works at HMP Elmley, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Lancaster Farms, and HMP Northumberland.
When complete, HMP Gartree will accommodate over 1,700 inmates and place a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, with 26 workshops and classrooms supporting skills development and future employment prospects.
Secure Prison – Proven Platform-DfMA Excellence
At the heart of this success is PCE’s Secure Prison system—a Platform-DfMA structural solution built around an optimised Kit-of-Parts. Standardised connection details and “Smart Connectivity” ensure repeatable quality and inherent security, while shape, size, and materiality are configured to meet each project’s exact requirements.
By engaging early with clients and design teams, PCE integrates security features, M&E provisions, and constructability into every element before manufacture. Without owning factories, PCE remains free to select the most suitable specialist manufacturers across its pan-European supply chain, balancing quality, scale, and cost efficiency.
Digital Accuracy, Golden Thread Assurance
Across design, manufacture, and assembly, PCE deploys Ynomia—an advanced track-and-trace platform. Every component is digitally logged in real time, capturing QA data, engineering details, and status updates in one secure, accessible environment. This “single source of truth” underpins Golden Thread compliance and gives clients transparent programme control with clear, predictable outcomes.
Safer, Faster, More Sustainable Delivery
The Secure Prison system consistently delivers the core benefits of speed, safety, quality, and certainty—ensuring cost, programme, and outcomes are reliably achieved. Drawing on insights from its Decarbonising Precast Concrete programme, PCE has reduced embodied carbon at HMP Gartree by 12% versus HMP Fosse Way—equating to 753 kg CO2e per prisoner place—without compromising structural integrity.
Setting the Benchmark for Modern Custodial Infrastructure
With decades of custodial experience and a track record of success across multiple UK prisons, PCE has refined the design, manufacture, and assembly process to deliver maximum client value. The Secure Prison Platform-DfMA approach, combined with advanced digital oversight and carbon-conscious engineering, establishes a benchmark for the next generation of safe, efficient, and sustainable prison infrastructure.
Images taken from previous prison projects
