MP Wayne David has described plans to close Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court as being “back-of-the-envelope stuff”.
The Caerphilly MP made the remarks in the House of Commons in questions to Under-Secretary of State for Justice Shailesh Vara.
Mr David, speaking on September 9, said: “The Ministry of Justice is consulting on the closure of Caerphilly court in my constituency.
“The proposal from the MoJ is, frankly, back-of-the-envelope stuff. It will create enormous inconvenience for my constituents, and what is more, the local MP has not even been consulted. Is that acceptable?”
In response, Mr Vara said: “There has been a consultation of which the local MP is aware, and he, like anyone else, is entitled to give his view in that.
“We are constantly reviewing the courts estate to ensure that it meets operational needs. If any decisions are to be taken on the honourable gentleman’s particular court, I hope that he will have been active in making his views heard.”
Mr David has previously expressed anger at not being sent the original consultation document by government officials.
He has since received a written apology from the MoJ.
Earlier this year the MoJ outlined plans to close the court on Mountain Road.
The UK Government department has 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 previously highlighted by Mr David.
A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service said a decision to close Caerphilly Magistrates’ Court had not been made. A date has yet to be announced on when the consultation responses to the plan will be published.
The better option in the long run would be to close all of the courts mentioned in this article and replace them with a join ‘mega court’ made up of many chambers to cater for the different areas. In essence the courts would be sharing one building. The cost of maintaining one building would be cheaper, the security of one building would be cheaper and if it’s build large enough the backlog can be cut down.
Maybe you are right Dean but one thing is for sure it would not be built near Caerffili. We are, arguably, the fifth most wealthy nation on Earth and I do not think it unreasonable for every town over a certain population, say 30.000 people, to enjoy the basic provision of a manned police station and a magistrate’s courtroom.
There is no reason why a current commercial building cannot be used as a court, perhaps on a part time basis. In the past this was exactly what was done in this town.