PLANS to expand the troubled Parc Prison to house hundreds more inmates have been approved by Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC).
The proposal was given the go-ahead at a recent council planning committee. The plans are to build a new “K-shaped house block” for an extra 345 residents, along with an additional 160 members of staff.
HMP Parc is a category B prison in Coity, Bridgend. It was opened in 1997 and is operated by private security firm G4S. The current site holds a total of 1,670 inmates and has 676 members of staff.
The application was handed in by Galliford Try Construction Limited earlier in 2025 on behalf of the UK’s Ministry of Justice. The works will involve repositioning parts of the boundary wall.
Already being added are a replacement kitchen and dining block, along with a new gym, multi-faith building, education building, and visitor/staff entrance with extra car parking and associated infrastructure.
A report given to council bosses said: “The current expansion is part of a UK-wide scheme to increase capacity by developing existing prisons to house additional residents.”
However, the application saw a large response from residents who live near the facility with concerns over increased levels of noise from the site, as well as increased traffic along Heol Spencer as a result of the additional staff and visitor numbers.
Photo: BCBC.
Speaking at the planning meeting, Cllr Amanda Williams said she and others in the village of Coity understood the prison had to expand but felt more needed to be done for the community to address the issues they would face as a result – in particular with traffic calming measures and safe walking routes for visitors.
Planning officers said many of the issues raised were pre-existing and from an established facility, with members only able to take account of what additional impacts the new development could have.
When it came to improved pedestrian access, highways officers said it would be difficult to develop a walking link from the Sainsbury’s bus stops to the prison as it would have to cross private land.
A representative speaking on behalf of the applicant said noise from the prison and worries about the use of drones would be mitigated with the installation of new windows, while conditions would be in place for additional tree planting to screen neighbouring properties from the site.
They also described the “substantial” economic benefits of the proposal which would eventually bring 160 well paid jobs to the Bridgend area.
Following debate, the plans were later approved after a recorded vote of 10 members for to three against.
By Lewis Smith, Local Democracy Reporter
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