By Paul Reoch

BULLDOZERS HAVE moved in to pull down a notorious wing of Perth prison as part of a £70 million upgrading programme.

The transformation of the Victorian prison is planned over three stages and includes knocking down “C” Hall, which for years carried out the maligned practice of slopping out.

The new £17 million regimes, laundry and energy centre is already being used by prisoners who will be able to study for Scottish Vocational Qualifications as part of their rehabilitation programme.

But the most dramatic change will be the creation of a new “C” Hall, which is phase two of the redevelopment. It will have four storeys and space for 355 prisoners.

Each cell will have access to a toilet but the front facade of the old “C” Hall will be retained due to it being an A-listed building.

A spokesman from the Scottish Prison Service said yesterday, “There has been mechanical diggers demolishing ‘C’ Hall and there is a pile of rubble at the back of the prison now.

“We have to be more careful with the front of the hall as it is to be kept.”

In March the prison was praised for ending slopping out by Dr Andrew McLellan, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons, who said it had previously been the “worst place to live in Scottish prisons.”

But Dr McLellan also listed a host of matters which he felt should be addressed, including cell sharing, poor food and the lack of an addiction strategy group. He particularly highlighted the poor conditions experienced by prisoners.

“Unfortunately there are a lot of prisoners living in poor conditions, sometimes with three sharing one cell. In the dormitory cells there are even six to a room,” he said.

“Some prisoners were living in cells with inadequate or broken furniture. Mattresses are old and thin and often do not look clean.

“Part of this can be attributed to the huge rebuilding programme going on, where some prisoners had to free their room to allow the work to take place,” he said.

But Martyn Bettel, the prison’s deputy governor, has said that many of these problems have already been addressed and that the upgrading will substantially alter perceptions of the building.

“The upgrading will bring Perth prison up to the standards of the 21st century and will mark the end of an era of the old prison service,” he said. “The new ‘C’ Hall will completely transform the skyline of Perth.”

The regimes building also gives prisoners the opportunity to train for hairdressing, arts and crafts, woodcutting, painting and cooking.

It has social workers, psychologists, anger management courses, help with drug and alcohol addiction and a violence protection programme.

The third phase of the redevelopment will see a new reception area along with a health centre and outdoor football pitch.

* A sickness virus at the prison this week led to around 80 inmates being quarantined in “E” Hall. The prisoners were confined to their cells and a control team were sent in.

A total of 11 prisoners and five staff were sick as a result, with one inmate being taken to Perth Royal Infirmary for treatment as a precaution.