The district’s cases will now be moved to Leeds Magistrates’ Court.
Advertisement
Officials from the Ministry of Justice say the sites proposed for closure are either underused or unsuitable for its plans to deal with more of its caseload on digital platforms.
Chichester’s Crown, County and Magistrates’ courts will all be closed, the Government has today announced.
“The retention of Bury courthouse would not address the current underuse of Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court and Manchester County Court, or the need for HM Courts & Tribunals Service to reduce the current and future cost of running its estate and to maximise the capital receipts from surplus estate for reinvestment”.
The decision was made by the Lord Chancellor, Michael Gove, after a report said that the court was being run at 51-per-cent capacity, otherwise known as its “utilisation rate”.
It also admits its claim there was a direct train service between Bury and Norwich was wrong.
Bridgend MP Madeleine Moon said: “This is a bad day for access to justice in Bridgend”.
One of the 57 members of the public who responded, wrote: “To cite train journeys (and bus when available) is assuming that people are starting out from the court they would have used which is not the case as people will travel from home. This could be from Haverhill, for example”. While we welcome the additional investment in remaining courts that the government has promised, this work needs to be done as a matter of urgency if the impact of these closures is to be mitigated. But for many people that simply isn’t an option as they don’t have access to a auto. There are concerns in several areas such as transport, connectivity, victim safety and representation.
Advertisement
“Throughout this process I have been assured that there will be no job losses and that Solihull residents still have good access to legal services, and today’s announcement does not change that. We hope the Ministry of Justice will work closely with magistrates to safeguard it”. I would like to thank everyone that has worked and campaigned to put a strong case forward to keep the court.
