Although there will be concern about hasty closures, some innovative ideas are likely to be put forward. Speaking just after the announcement, Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice, suggested that he was not against all closures per se and that certain measures could provide flexible responses. 'You could use a town hall provided there are reasonable facilities,' he said, raising the idea of hiring non-traditional court premises on a part-time basis.
Challenges in rural areas
Speaking on the BBC's World at One programme, he urged a detailed analysis of how people travel to their courts before individual premises are decommissioned. He said: 'Before you close a court you need to get very clear evidence of where the local community is and how it travels.' In rural areas such as North Wales, court closures could be more difficult to put through on this analysis - as fewer people have access to cars and have long distances to travel. But the temporary use - perhaps one day per week - of other premises could provide some way of reducing the practical problems.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
