Planning permission has been granted for the installation of fire detectors and cabling in nine cells beneath York Crown Court, the judicial building at the heart of the city’s Castle complex.
Safety work amid concerns over prison accommodation standards
The Ministry of Justice application sets out measures to improve fire detection in the court’s basement accommodation. Local planning officers concluded the proposals would have only a limited impact on the fabric of the historic building while delivering a clear public safety benefit.
Officials noted the cells form part of the court’s long-standing function in the administration of justice. The works, they said, were designed so that cabling would follow existing routes where possible to avoid unnecessary disturbance to historic fabric.
“There is public benefit. The submission explains the necessity of the works and reasonably justifies the approach.”
The approval comes against the background of a Ministry of Justice commitment to ensure all prison accommodation meets fire safety standards by 2027. A 2024 National Audit Office review identified that around a quarter of occupied prison places did not comply with relevant standards — a figure equating to roughly 23,000 places in the published dataset.
Heritage and safety: balancing priorities
York Crown Court, part of the York Castle complex and designed by architect John Carr in the 1770s, is a protected historic asset. Planning officers stressed that the proposed alterations were “minimal”, pointing to the need to protect both the building’s heritage and the safety of people using the accommodation beneath it.
- Works cover nine cells beneath the court building.
- Design aims to follow existing cabling routes to limit historic impact.
- Part of a wider commitment by the HM Prison and Probation Service to meet fire safety standards by 2027.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | York Crown Court (York Castle complex) |
| Number of cells | 9 |
| Target compliance date | 2027 |
Local residents and heritage bodies often scrutinise works at listed buildings closely. The planning report indicates officers weighed the historic interest of the site against the safety imperative and concluded the minimal interventions proposed would be justified.
Implementation of the works will be watched locally as part of wider efforts to bring all custodial accommodation up to modern fire safety standards across the prison and court estate.
