DARTMOOR Prison is hoping to make 'long overdue' improvements to its facilities for visitors waiting to see inmates.
The prison service has lodged an application with Dartmoor National Park Authority to build a modern hospitable visitors' centre. The new facility would provide a heated area where drinks and food would be available as well as a rest area for visitors who had travelled a long way.
Prison governor Graham Johnson said the existing facility 'falls far below the expectations of the modern prison service'. He said the upgraded visitors' centre had been recommended by staff, prisoners and prison service chiefs.
The prison wants to construct a covered area between the visitors' area and the adjacent building currently ten to 12 feet apart, with access doors at each end.
The prison will launch a consultation exercise as part of the process. Mr Johnson said the new visitors' centre was unlikely to be in place before the end of the year.