Courts: Closures

(asked on 7th September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which courts that have been closed since 2010 have yet to be sold; and what the cost to the Government has been of each of those court premises since they were closed.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 10th September 2021

The table below provides a list of former court buildings which are closed and unsold. Three of these buildings are currently being used as Nightingale courts as a temporary measure as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

Court

Notes

Holding Costs since closure

Chichester Magistrates’ Court and Combined Court

Operating as a temporary Nightingale court since 6 April 2021.

£556,242

Chorley Magistrates Court

£275,984

Exeter Magistrates Court

£91,784

Fleetwood Magistrates Court

Operating as a temporary Nightingale court since 24 August 2020.

£123,041

Harlow Magistrates Court

£153,362

Hartlepool Magistrates Court

We expect these costs to reduce by c.£200,000 due to a service charge rebate.

£476,193

Maidenhead Magistrates Court

£391,241

Scunthorpe Magistrates and County Court

£432,597

Telford County Court

Operating as a temporary Nightingale court since 17 July 2020.

£252,115

Holding costs include utilities, rates, maintenance and security, and with the exception of the Nightingale courts, are from the closure of the court until 31st August 2021. For the Nightingale courts, holding costs are calculated until their date of temporary reopening.

We assessed all unsold former court buildings as potential Nightingale courts, but due to condition issues and operational limitations, only the three buildings noted were suitable.

The decision to close any court is not taken lightly. It only happens following full public consultation and only when effective access to justice can be maintained. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to another court.

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