Kennet

Kennet may refer to:

See also

Kennet District

Coordinates: 51°21′07″N 1°59′42″W / 51.352°N 1.995°W / 51.352; -1.995

Kennet was a non-metropolitan local government district in Wiltshire, England, abolished as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. It was named after the River Kennet.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the municipal boroughs of Devizes, Marlborough, and Devizes Rural District, Marlborough and Ramsbury Rural District and Pewsey Rural District.

The district council was based at offices in Devizes. It was abolished on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, when its functions were taken over by the new Wiltshire Council unitary authority.

See also

HM Prison Kennet

Coordinates: 53°31′08″N 2°54′50″W / 53.519°N 2.914°W / 53.519; -2.914

HM Prison Kennet is a Category C men's prison, located in Parkbourn, Maghull, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

History

Faced with overcrowding in regional prisons, the National Offender Management Service in December 2006 planned a new facility on the East Site of Ashworth Hospital, which it leases from MerseyCare NHS Trust. The site of the new prison and surrounding area were known locally as Kennet Heath, so the name Kennet was adopted for the prison.

The prison was converted from the existing medical buildings at a cost of £19 million. It began accepting inmates in September 2007, but was officially opened in February 2008.

In April 2010, The Howard League for Penal Reform rated Kennet as the most overcrowded prison in England and Wales. The prison was found to be running at 193% capacity.

The prison today

Kennet Prison holds Category C adult males from the surrounding area. Accommodation at the prison is divided between seven units, predominantly containing double occupancy cells with integral sanitation, showers on all landings, purpose built serveries, and association facilities. There is also an additional segregation unit.