A new Leicestershire prison will be named HMP Fosse Way following a consultation with the local community.
Back In December, the Ministry of Justice invited residents to send in suggestions for the new 1,700-space jail, which will replace HMP Glen Parva.
Now a panel has chosen to call the £286m facility HMP Fosse Way – a name picked out from more than 130 suggestions, sent in from the local community.
It is set to open in mid-2023, and will be run by private operator Serco.
The panel who made the final decision on its name, included Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council, Councillor John Boyce, Leader of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council and MP for South Leicestershire Alberto Costa, who looked through the suggestions and made the recommendation to Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.
The origin of the name Fosse Way is deep rooted in South Leicestershire, and was a roman road originally built to link key areas such as Exeter, Lincoln, Bath and Leicester across the country. The name is also popular with a number of local businesses and venues.
Councillor Terry Richardson, Leader of Blaby District Council, said: “It was an incredibly difficult task to choose the name from the great set of suggestions we received, but HMP Fosse Way is a very fitting name and we were delighted to pick it.
“We are proud to have taken advantage of the construction of this new prison in our area to team up with stakeholders and give local businesses access and opportunity to bid for work, as well as working with schools to provide an insight into the construction industry for students.
“With Serco announced as the operator for HMP Fosse Way, we are aiming to work with them in the future to ensure that the new prison has a positive, long-term impact on the community.”
Alberto Costa, MP for South Leicestershire said: “I was delighted to hear that so many local people have engaged with HM Prison and Probation Service’s competition to find a name for the new Glen Parva prison.
The community has already played a central part in the creation of the new prison, and so I very much look forward to continue working closely with the Ministry of Justice, and the new prison’s operator to ensure that they remain proactive in maintaining these close ties with the local community and the people of South Leicestershire.”
According to the government, the site has already created 230 jobs and 16 apprenticeships during construction and when open, it is expected to offer more than 600 jobs.
The construction of the new category C prison at Glen Parva began in August 2020 on the site of the previous male prison and young offenders institution, which closed in 2017.
