Consultation on Proposed Court Closures

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has just launched a consultation on the proposed closure of eight court buildings.

The courts involved in the consultation are:

• Blackfriars Crown Court (see consultation document);
• Wandsworth County Court (see consultation document);
• East Berkshire (Maidenhead) Magistrates' Court (see consultation document);
• Fleetwood Magistrates' Court (see consultation document);
• Banbury Magistrates' and County Court (see consultation document);
• Northallerton Magistrates' Court (see consultation document);
• Chorley Magistrates' Court (see consultation document);
• Cambridge Magistrates' Court (see consultation document).

HMCTS is in favour of the closures on the basis that many of the courts in question are under utilised and structurally deficient. It is claimed that work would be transferred to courts with better connectivity and modern facilities, whilst maintaining access to justice. The savings and revenue generated from the sale of court sites would be reinvested into the wider HMCTS reform programme, so as to deliver a better standard of customer service to all.

HMCTS has prepared an impact assessment if the proposed closures come to fruition.

Magistrates' Courts, by their very definition, deliver local justice to local people. As a result of that many Magistrates' Courts are located in rural or semi-rural areas, where transport links aren't as developed as within the urban areas where the Crown Courts are located.

The courts located at Banbury, Cambridge and Northallerton are particularly isolated. Closures there will mean people having to travel many extra miles to the nearest alternative venue, which will be time-consuming enough for car users, let alone for those relying on public transport. The situation in Cambridge is particularly noteworthy, as the court is less than ten years old and has good quality, modern facilities. That said, in the last year Cambridge Magistrates' Court sat for less than a third of the total hours available, so is significantly under-utilised.

The consultations close on 29th March 2018, with a final decision on the closures expected in the summer.