PLANS have been submitted for a permanent car park at HMP Channings Wood as the prison continues to undergo development.

The Ministry of Justice has applied to Teignbridge Council for permission to convert land currently being used as a temporary construction compound into a permanent car park for prison staff.

The site, off Denbury Road, is located to the south-east of the main prison buildings.

It is currently used by contractors working on projects at the Category C male prison.

The application - reference 26/01386/MAJ - proposes a total of 262 parking spaces.

Of these, 14 would be designated disabled spaces, while 28 would have active electric vehicle charging points.

A further 48 spaces would be provided with passive EV infrastructure, allowing charging points to be installed in the future.

Access to the car park would continue to be taken from the existing private road which runs between HMP Channings Wood and Denbury Road.

A pedestrian route would also connect the car park with the prison.

The proposal comes as the Channings Wood site has seen a number of significant developments in recent years.

Planning proposals have increased the prison's potential capacity by 524 prisoners, including plans for two new three-storey T60 houseblocks and 30 rapid deployment cells.

The application documents state that the existing construction compound will no longer be required for its temporary purpose, with the parking area instead being retained for permanent use by prison staff.

The proposed 262 spaces are broadly in line with the existing provision, which currently includes around 265 spaces.

Teignbridge Council is expected to make a decision on the application by December 11.

To view the documents in full, and to comment on the application, visit Teignbridge Council’s planning portal and enter ‘26/01386/MAJ’ into the search-box.