The closure of Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court will see a drop in the number of people attending hearings, Caerphilly MP Wayne David has said.
Last month the Ministry of Justice outlined plans to close the court on Mountain Road.
The UK Government department said the cost of repairing the building would be too great, given its poor condition.
Abergavenny Magistrates’ Court is also facing closure for similar reasons.
The MoJ said an estimated £1.4 million was needed to bring both buildings up to scratch and that cases would instead be heard at Cwmbran and Newport.
If the closure happened, it would mean no magistrates’ court in Caerphilly County Borough – a concern highlighted by Mr David.
In a letter to the MoJ, Mr David wrote: “I am particularly concerned that the consultation document does not fully take into account the costs and inconvenience of the need for increased travel by my constituents.
“While I accept that at present it is fairly commonplace that trials are listed in any court across Gwent, first hearing cases appear at local Magistrates’ Courts.
“Centralisation in Newport and Cwmbran will undoubtedly disadvantage constituents who reside in the Rhymney Valley.”
Mr David added: “The incorrect assumption is that all those having to travel to Newport or Cwmbran are residents of Caerphilly town.
“This is of course not the case. My understanding is that the Magistrates’ Court in Caerphilly services an area which includes the Aber Valley, the rural area around Rudry and the greater part of the Rhymney Valley. In order to attend at Newport and Cwmbran it will be necessary for those constituents to make at least two bus journeys. This means that the costs and journey times (given the poor connections in many cases) are far greater than those cited.”
He concluded: “I am told that there is already a significant number of defendants who do not appear at Caerphilly Magistrates when they are summoned to do so. Closing the Magistrates’ Court in Caerphilly is likely to exacerbate an already serious problem.”
Mr David has also received a written apology from the MoJ after the original consultation document was not sent to him by government officials.
The consultation on the closure plans closes on July 21.
Wayne David is absolutely right, a town the size of Caerffili needs a magistrates court as a basic civic amenity. The town has had a court of some kind for more than 700 years. Sometimes buildings were used formultiple purposes, courts have been held in the past at the Castle Hotel and
Boar’s Head. There is no reason why this should not be the case now, as I
understand the magistrates court is not in session every day.
The truth, in my view, is that the court, along with our health provision and police, is facing closure because the powers that be want to concentrate resources in the towns of Gwent at the expense of towns like Caerffili , Ystrad Mynach and Llanbradach. This process has been strangling the Glamorgan
towns for more than forty years now.
I do not begrudge the people of Gwent any of their services but view with alarm the removal of facilities we once enjoyed in Caerffili in order to pay for them. In the last three years we have lost our hospital, our police station and, you can bet on this, our court.