Plans to expand HMP Norwich with a kitchen extension and more security fencing have been approved. 

The scheme will help the prison cater for 170 new inmates coming as part of the upcoming Elizabeth Fry Wing upgrade. 

This expansion will see the single-storey kitchen in the centre of the complex extended by 890 square feet with an adjoining 60-square-foot hazardous materials store.

HMP Norwich will undergo expansion after plans to extend its kitchen were approvedHMP Norwich will undergo expansion after plans to extend its kitchen were approved (Image: Newsquest) While the existing kitchen is renovated a temporary portacabin will be installed close by to provide catering for the facility. 

READ MORE: Plans lodged to erect 20m-tall 5G antenna mast in city suburb

A 5.2-metre tall fence will also be installed around the new kitchen once completed and 3.6-metre tall fencing will be used to surround the temporary kitchen while it is in place. 

The kitchen block (red) will be expandedThe kitchen block (red) will be expanded (Image: Google) Both will be made of steel and mesh panels, with the higher fencing having barbed wire. 

The approval for this scheme comes as the prison undergoes a £38m renovation which will provide 170 new spaces by 2025.

HMP Norwich was the first in the country to receive a number of "portable cells" to help with increasing inmate numbers early last year.