Mt Eden/ACRP Redevelopment Project

In June 2007 the Department of Corrections announced its plans to replace Mt Eden Prison on the existing site.  This decision was in response to forecast growth for more prison beds and a need to replace the 120-year-old facility with a safer, more functional, and secure prison.

On 7 May 2008 the Government announced approval of $216 million capital funding for the redevelopment project – replacing the ageing Mt Eden Prison with integrated facilities.

Throughout the planning of the new facilities, the Department consulted with the Auckland city and regional councils as well as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and local iwi representatives. Corrections also communicated with local businesses and communities.

The designs of the buildings were evaluated by the Auckland City Council’s own Urban Design Panel and three independent commissioners. The Panel concluded the proposed building heights represented a good balance between the Department’s site capacity requirements, retention of the heritage features and minimisation of visual impacts. New Zealand Historic Places Trust also approved the site development plans.

Mt Eden Corrections Facility

The new buildings were completed on time and within budget. They were officially opened by the Minister of Corrections, Hon Judith Collins, on 30th March 2011 as the Mt Eden Corrections Facility (MECF). They were handed over to Serco New Zealand to commission and commence managing under contract on 31st March 2011.

On 1 May 2011 Serco took over the management of Auckland Central Remand Prison (ACRP) and it was incorporated into MECF.

The site is still largely dedicated to housing remand prisoners whose average stay there is about four weeks. Its central Auckland location makes it ideal for this purpose. Remand prisoners are required to make regular court appearances and have more contact with legal representatives and other visitors.

The redevelopment project presented a number of unique challenges. Most new prisons are built on large unoccupied sites away from cities. By contrast, the new facilities have been built on a small, constrained inner city site around two busy prisons, close to mainly commercial premises.

What the redevelopment project includes

The first Stage of the significant redevelopment project was completed in March 2011.Stage One included:

• two new accommodation buildings providing a total of 554 new beds
• a modern Gatehouse (which provides a secure single point of entry to the prison)
• a Visits Centre for Parole Board hearings, Visiting Justices, lawyers and other visitors
• a satellite health unit located close to the new accommodation units.  The main health services facilities remain in the ACRP building.

Stage Two involves:

• decanting (emptying) Mt Eden prison by August 2011 and keeping it in a state of readiness for contingency purposes.

The flattening of the remand prisoner population in the 2010 Criminal Justice Forecast means that the additional capacity originally planned to be provided through the construction of a third accommodation unit (245 remand beds) has not been progressed at this time.

A new integrated prison site

A core component of the redevelopment is the shift to one combined and integrated prison with one management structure and one operating practice. This meant that after Serco took over the new buildings at MECF to commission them ready for prisoners, and then took over the management and operation of Auckland Central Remand Prison (ACRP) on 1 May 2011, the entire site became a single prison known as Mt Eden Corrections Facility.

Redevelopment work has taken the total capacity of the new integrated prison, largely for short-term remand prisoners, to 966 prisoner beds.

Maintaining rigorous security on site and ensuring the two prisons operate as normally as possible during diverse construction activity and the handover to contract management has been a significant logistical undertaking.

Security includes advanced electronic security via centralised management and surveillance of all movements around the integrated prison, as well as a secure perimeter wall, use of drug dog detection units, cell phone jamming and enhanced closed circuit monitoring.

The new buildings have been carefully designed to improve the appearance of the site and to fit in well with the surrounding environment.

Fritted glass panels are a feature on the exterior of the accommodation buildings which provide a visual barrier between the cells and the external environment, yet let in daylight.

The transfer of prisoners from the old Mt Eden prison to the integrated facilities will happen over the months to August 2011. 

There is more information about contract management on the Corrections' website.

Key Dates

Most of the new integrated prison facilities will be fully operational in 2011.  Key dates for the redevelopment project and contract management-related milestones are shown below.