Bath Magistrates Court to be retained as a result of Public Response

It is good news that Bath Magistrates court is to remain open and that the government has agreed that the public are right n the massive response that they gave to the public consultation.

The Lord Chancellor has agreed to retain the Courts after weighing up evidence received during a public consultation.

Evidence was submitted to the Ministry of Justice by Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Community Transport and Environmental Panel, following a Scrutiny Inquiry last September. 

The Inquiry heard evidence from members of the community and many professionals on the key issues and concerns raised by the proposal 

to close Bath Magistrates, County Court and Family Court or North Avon (Yate) Magistrates Court, with the transfer of the workload to Bristol Magistrates Court.  Both the positive and negative impacts were then reported back to the Lord Chancellor’s Office.

Having reviewed all the responses received during the consultation process,

the Lord Chancellor has recently agreed to close 10 courts and tribunals in the South West region, with Bath being the only site to be retained.

Though there was an acceptance that alternative provision might be possible, the responses confirmed the facilities currently available in Bath are of an excellent standard and could in fact be used to better effect by taking work from other courts that may close following this consultation.