The Isle of Sheppey's prison population could rise by almost 400 inmates after two separate plans were given the nod by Swale council.

Proposals that could see Elmley take an extra 247 prisoners and Standford Hill another 120 have been agreed – although the final decision lies with Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab.

Currently Elmley holds 1,150 prisoners and Standford Hill 450. The increase in inmates would be a rise of 25%.

A four-storey houseblock, workshop, staff administration building and a new seven-a-side sports pitch are just a few of the proposals included for the expansion of HMP Elmley, which opened in 1992 and acts as a remand jail for prisoners awaiting trial.

At HMP Standford Hill, which opened in 1950 and is an open jail for low-risk offenders, two houseblocks, a record store, library, office and an extension to the existing visitor car park have been proposed.

Concerns had been raised around the impact the plans, approved by Swale on August 18, would have on traffic.

Read more: Day in the life of a prison officer at Swaleside, Elmley and Standford Hill

Eastchurch Parish Council objected to the proposal, saying: “The principal concerns with the prison expansion is highway issues and road infrastructure, not the internal arrangements and increase of the occupancy of the prison site.

“Church Road, where HMP Elmley is located, is unsuitable in its existing state for the existing levels of traffic and the increase from both that application and the Standford Hill application will make the situation much worse in terms of road infrastructure and safety for both residents and users of the site.”

However a survey carried out by an independent transport company, Pegasus Group, concluded there would be no traffic issues.

It stated: “A revised transport statement has been prepared to allow further consideration of prisoner vehicles’ movements.

“It’s been confirmed that up to 38 prisoners could travel off site for work and of those 19 could have access to a vehicle.

“The traffic impact of prisoner vehicle movements is therefore negligible with the majority of movements taking place outside of the typical peak hours on the highway network.

“It is finally concluded that traffic movements associated with the proposed expansion of HMP Standford Hill will not have a significant impact on the local highway network.”