AN old Victorian reservoir at Princetown Prison was this week officially opened, following a restoration project carried out partly by inmates at the prison.

The old reservoir and valve tower was built at the beginning of the 19th century.

The reservoir, fed by a leat that runs some four miles into the moor, originally supplied water to the prison, until it was replaced in the late 1880s.

Work to restore the reservoir, and reinstate the woodlands and nature reserve area, started in 2011. Prison trainees, under guidance from the Moor Trees charity, have been carrying out the work as part of the land-based training programme, Offender Pathway to Employment (OPEP), at the prison.

The programme aims to reduce re-offending by improving offender employability through the provision of a high quality volunteering, education and training programme, focussing on environmental conservation. OPEP is delivered as a joint venture with Bicton College and supported by the Bromely Trust and Tudor Trust/Lankelly Chase partnership.

The prison provides a range of skills training options — and Moor Trees helps to apply those skills to the management of the land surrounding the prison.

The work carried out under the OPEP project has been supported by grant funding from organisations including BIFFA, the Bromley Trust, the JP Getty Foundation and Dartmoor National Park Authority.