BULLOWOOD Hall is one of six prisons set to close in England, the Ministry of Justice said today.
The Hockley prison which houses foreign nationals will go under Government plans to build a so-called super-prison.
The programme, which will see partial closures at two other prisons, including Chelmsford, is part of a drive to build new capacity to replace older prisons and bring down the cost of the prison system.
It is expected to save £63 million a year.
Some 2,600 offenders are held at the prisons targeted for closure, plus three sites which will be partially shut down.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We have to bring down the cost of our prison system, much of which is old and expensive.
"But I never want the courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available.
"So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system."
There are up to 230 prisoners at Bullwood Hall at any one time, and more than 800 passed through the prison between August 2011 and July 2012.
The vast majority are deported at the end of their sentences
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