Prisoner-built housing scheme wins national award for innovation

An innovative home-building scheme that trains prisoners and ex-offenders in construction while delivering affordable, sustainable housing has won a prestigious national award.

Prisoners Building Homes (PBH), a project conceived by the five Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in the South West, was recognised at the CN Specialist Awards in London, one of the UK’s leading celebrations of specialist contractors.

The winning scheme, Fortis House in Henwood, was delivered by modular housing company ZED PODS in partnership with Ashford Borough Council. It consists of 23 zero-operational carbon homes providing temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.

The homes were constructed by prisoners under professional supervision, offering them nationally recognised construction qualifications and valuable employment skills. Judges hailed the project as showing a “strong commitment to social and sustainable impact”.

They added: “Its prisoner employment initiative particularly impressed the panel, providing skills to support future employment in construction. A great project!”

ZED PODS, one of 14 accredited housebuilders in the PBH scheme, beat high-profile competitors including Severfield (builders of Everton FC’s new stadium) and Lindner Prater (Co-op Live arena) to take the title of Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract over £5m).

In a post celebrating the win, the company said: “We did it! ZED PODS' Fortis House delivered with Ashford Borough Council has won the Construction News CN Specialist Awards — Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract over £5m) — one of the toughest categories, up against some big companies in the housing sector.”

Around 700 specialists from across the construction industry attended the awards ceremony, which attracted more than 200 entries this year.

The PBH programme was launched in 2021, with its first homes built for Torbay Council, followed by further developments in Tiverton and Cullompton. The scheme has since expanded across the country, with 14 housebuilders now working with 11 prisons.

So far, more than 100 prisoners have received formal training under PBH. According to official figures, 89% secure employment upon release – compared to a national average of just 19% – while reoffending rates drop below 5%, significantly lower than the national figure of 27%.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “I am delighted that this collaborative and innovative scheme which is successfully helping to reduce offending while creating affordable homes has been recognised nationally as a leading example of long-term sustainable solutions with multiple benefits.

“I was proud to support the first home delivered for Torbay Council in 2021 and subsequent successful housing projects in Devon have included in Tiverton and Cullompton.

“It shows that Police and Crime Commissioners can make a local and national difference, and I am looking forward to PBH projects being delivered in more and more communities across the country.”

PBH is sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Justice, and PCCs, with backing from the Cabinet Office, Local Government Association, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, and Local Partnerships.

Looking ahead, PBH’s ambition for 2026–29 is to:

• Deliver more than 10,000 low-carbon affordable homes on over 1,000 sites

• Train at least 3,000 prisoners to be construction-qualified

• Provide 20,000 people with warm, energy-efficient housing

• Accredit over 50 housebuilders and 30 prisons nationwide

Led by Sophie Baker of the Devon and Cornwall PCC’s office, the programme is widely seen as a model for tackling two of society’s biggest challenges: prisoner rehabilitation and the housing crisis.