British Net Zero prison to be £150million overbudget and deliver just 200 jail places

One of Britain's first Net Zero prisons is set to be £150billion overbudget, 10 years' delayed and deliver just 200 new jail places.

HMP Highland, located on the outskirts of Inverness, is due to open up in spring 2027 and is already costing the taxpayer around £209million.

The original project was initially costing Britons £52million, meaning the price has quadrupled from the total cost from a decade ago, and was meant to open up in 2016.

Now, with the updated cost, each prisoner place will cost hard-working Britons more than £1million.

The prison will also be Scotland's first "Net Zero" prison, reconstructing the outdated Victorian HMP Inverness in a bid to cut carbon emissions by 85 per cent.

Back in 2021, the Tories first introduced the idea of the green jails, setting out how prisons will have heat pumps, efficient lighting systems and thousands of solar panels.

HMP Highland is designed to run off renewable energy sources, including heat pumps, to support Holyrood's persistent bid to support the Scottish Government's low carbon targets.

The only other Net Zero prison in operation is next to HMP Full Sutton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, costing £400million for 1,500 places.

Constructors Balfour Beatty will deploy modular construction methods to the internal wall panels and perimeter walls offsite in a controlled factory environment.

Doing so would cut carbon emissions by minimising lorry movements and material deliveries to and from the site.

The project was pushed off in 2016, when the budget rose to around £66million and politicians put off the opening date to 2020.

Then, with further delays in 2021, the estimated cost rose to up to £110million with a completion idate of 2024.

They further increased the estimated cost to almost £140million, and later climbed to a staggering £209million with the scheme push off once again.

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Announcing the latest delay last month, Scottish Justice Secretary Neil Gray blamed "construction issues", informing Holyrood the completion date will be pushed off.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay ripped into the crisis, accusing the SNP for the "problem entirely of their own making".

He said: "You say that they find themselves in this position, the SNP Government, but it’s a problem entirely of their making.

"They’ve been in charge of Scotland’s justice system and prison service for two decades and they are the ones that failed to build adequate capacity."

At the time of the latest delay, a Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: "We are disappointed by the latest delay but remain committed to delivering HMP Highland."

In 2021, Boris Johnson's Government vowed that new prisons will be equally effective at reducing carbon emissions.

The Justice Secretary at the time, Sir Robert Buckland, said the new green designs would prevent 280,000 tonnes of CO2 and cut energy demand by half.

It was expected the pledge would cut an estimated £100million in energy costs alone.