Official plans have been lodged to expand one of Kent’s prisons by more than 50%.

The Isle of Sheppey hosts three of the county’s prisons - and with spaces running extremely low, the proposal heralds the start of a major expansion of the whole estate.

An application has been submitted to Swale council for the expansion of HMP Standford Hill on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The MoJ wants permission for “new house blocks for 240 residents and the associated ancillary new builds and refurbishments.”

Sheppey’s vast prison site was originally built in the 1950s on an old RAF base, but the current buildings at Standford Hill were built in 1986, the application explains.

Four new housing blocks will be built at the Church Road site to increase capacity - each housing 60 inmates.

Also in the cluster of three prisons near the village of Eastchurch is Elmley and Swaleside.

HMP Swaleside is a Category A high security prison housing inmates charged with murder, supply of class A drugs or other major and violent crimes.

HMP Elmley is a Category B and C prison - with slightly lower security, whereas HMP Standford Hill is a Category D open prison.

In open prisons inmates are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Eligible prisoners can spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes.

The application to expand Standford Hill states: “The existing workshop will be refurbished to create a light industry timber workshop (such as furniture making).”

The prison will also get a a new “training kitchen facility with dining hall and servery to accommodate up to 700 residents” under the proposals.

A new records office, library with multimedia facilities and a healthcare office are also proposed.

To see more planning applications and other public notices for your area, click here.

The application forms part of a prison expansion project announced in 2019, originally intended to deliver 10,000 new places.

An MoJ spokesperson confirmed approval was given for an expansion at HMP Elmley in September 2022, and there are no current plans to provide more spaces at HMP Swaleside.

Prison population has been a major concern lately, with the Prison Governors’ Association saying on June 25: “The entire criminal justice system stands on the precipice of failure,” due to a lack of spaces.

It warned that the UK’s prisons are “days away” from completely running out of space, as the MoJ’s weekly bulletin released on June 21 showed 87,395 inmates, with a maximum capacity of 88,778.

Judges have been advised to delay sentencing for some offences to ease pressure on the prisons.

The Conservative manifesto for the upcoming general election promises to build more prisons, and says while in government it has “delivered 6,000 prison places as part of the largest prison expansion since the Victorian era”.

It also commits to four whole new prisons by 2030, bringing the total expansion up to 20,000 places.

The Labour Party promise in its manifesto to “use all relevant powers to build the prisons so badly needed”.

“As a result of overcrowding, our prisons are increasingly dangerous, plagued by drug use and violent disorder,” the manifesto adds.

The Liberal Democrats don’t promise to build any more prisons, but says it will “tackle overcrowding” in part by diverting some offenders to treatment and rehabilitation, and reducing sentencing delays.

Reform UK promises to create 10,000 more prison spaces, including through the use of disused military bases if needed.

The Green Party however don’t promise the building of any more prisons or any more prison spaces, and instead says it would invest in rehabilitation and probation services to reduce the strain.

It adds: “There are some people who need to be imprisoned for reasons of public safety or the seriousness of their offence.

“For others a restorative approach, forcing criminals to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, is better for the offender, the victim and society at large.”

It is not yet known when Swale council will decide on the planning application, but a deadline of September 20 has been set.