Courts: Closures
(asked on 5th March 2019) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which courts his Department closed in 2016; on what dates those court buildings were sold; and what the value was of each of those sales.
The decision to close a court is never taken lightly. Court closures have taken place following a public consultation and only when the Lord Chancellor was satisfied that effective access to justice could be maintained. We have closed less efficient courts allowing for resources to be concentrated into a smaller number of better quality and more flexible buildings.
The table below provides a list of courts closed in the 2016/17 financial year, their date of sale and the disposal proceeds.
Courts closed during 2016/17 financial year | Date Sold | Proceeds (£) |
Bournemouth Magistrates' Court | Apr-18 | 1,920,299 |
Brecon Law Courts | Pending disposal- in solicitors’ hands | N/A |
Bridgend Law Courts | Mar-17 | 375,000 |
Burton upon Trent Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 240,000 |
Bury St Edmunds Crown & Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 1,050,000 |
Buxton Magistrates’ and County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Caerphilly Magistrates' Court | Mar-18 | 445,000 |
Carmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall) | Dec-16 | 223,004 |
Consett Magistrates' Court | Oct-16 | 225,000 |
Corby Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 140,000 |
Dartford Magistrates' Court | Oct-16 | 1,000,000 |
Dolgellau Crown & Magistrates' Court | Nov-17 | 67,509 |
Dorchester crown court (Weymouth and Dorchester combined) | Leasehold property | N/A |
Fareham Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 1,150,000 |
Feltham Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 2,150,000 |
Gloucester Magistrates’ Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Grantham Magistrates’ Court | Jan-17 | 560,000 |
Greenwich Magistrates' Court | Aug-17 | 12,005,000 |
Halifax County Court | Oct-17 | 200,000 |
Halifax Magistrates' Court (Calderdale) | Oct-16 | 550,000 |
Hartlepool Magistrates’ and County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Hinckley Magistrates’ Court | Mar-17 | 800,000 |
Kettering Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 187,500 |
Kings Lynn County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Lowestoft Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 150,000 |
Macclesfield County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Macclesfield Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 385,000 |
Morpeth and Berwick County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Neath and Port Talbot Civil and Family Court | Oct-17 | 250,000 |
Oldham Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 650,000 |
Ormskirk Magistrates' Court | Oct-16 | 250,000 |
Pontypridd Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 350,000 |
Redhill Magistrates' & Reigate County Court | Nov-17 | 6,550,000 |
Rhyl County Court | Sep-17 | 92,150 |
Rotherham Magistrates' & County Court | Mar-17 | 1 |
Runcorn (Halton) Magistrates' Court | Pending disposal | N/A |
Sandwell Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 530,000 |
Scunthorpe Magistrates’ and County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Skegness Magistrates' Court | Oct-16 | 150,000 |
Stroud Magistrates’ Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Tottenham Magistrates' Court | May-17 | 4,570,000 |
Trafford Magistrates' Court & Altrincham County Court | Oct-16 | 3,235,000 |
Tunbridge Wells County Court | Leasehold property | N/A |
Wakefield & Pontefract Magistrates' Court | Mar-17 | 360,000 |
Warrington Combined Court (County Part Only) | Located within Combined court which did not close | N/A |
West Berkshire Magistrates' Court (Newbury) | Oct-16 | 1,000,000 |
Yate Magistrates' Court (North Avon) | Oct-16 | 1,350,000 |
To note, the list does not include court integrations, which involve the movement of (or merging) of services into another existing HMCTS location in the same local area.