Sandwell Magistrates Court to close by end of year
A plan that would leave Sandwell as the only Black County borough without a magistrates court is set to rumble on until at least November.
The Government had planned to save about £407,000 a year by closing Sandwell Magistrates' Court between June and September.
But now the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) say the court is likely to remain open for cases until at least November. No staff will lose their jobs. They will be moved to Walsall, Wolverhampton and Dudley Magistrates' Courts once Sandwell's is finally axed. It is part of a national plan to shut 86 around the country.
Labour's deputy leader and West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson has said closing the court was 'an absolute disgrace', which would 'deny victims of crime and their families access to justice'.
A HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) spokeswoman said: "The decision to close a court is never taken lightly, but maintaining underused and dilapidated court buildings is simply unsustainable and costs the taxpayer £500 million a year.
"Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court and we are investing over £700m to reform and digitise our courts and tribunal services to deliver swifter and more certain justice."
A plan to build a new court in West Bromwich was abandoned by the coalition government in 2010 at the cost of £3.8m to HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The Express and Star revealed that site clearance and professional fees cost £1.7m and another £2.1m on land disposal. Stafford Magistrates' Court is also set to close by the end of 2016 in an attempt to save a further £213,000 a year.
Work from there will be distributed between Cannock and North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The MoJ had said earlier that it wanted to shut Stafford's court sometime between October and December. A spokeswoman said it is likely to finally be closed to the public for the final time in December.
Birmingham Youth Court will also close – but later than Stafford and Sandwell's courts. When the MoJ announced the closures, justice minister Shailesh Vara said many of the HMCTS's 460 buildings were underused.
