A NEWLY constructed building at a prison in Warrington has already been demolished after it was found not to meet building standards.

Back in 2022, the Warrington Guardian revealed that a dilapidated building within the HMO Prison Thorn Cross complex could be demolished and upgraded.

This came after plans were submitted to the council’s planning department to bulldoze the existing management unit - which is staffed by probation officers and prison staff, whose roles include developing and managing sentence plans, arranging release on temporary license to increase family links, parole board hearings and pre-release work - at the site in Appleton Thorn.

It was said that a new, larger and improved unit would be constructed in its place, with the existing building described as being ‘at the end of its life’.

Plan were approved and building for the new offender management unit at the category D open prison began in May 2023.

However, it was demolished this month as it was found not to meet building standards.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Construction of a replacement offender management unit is underway after the original was found not to meet building standards.

“The contractor is covering the cost of the rebuild.”

Plans are currently under way to build a new unit.