Seven closed courts still sit unsold

Seven of the many courts closed by the last government are still to be sold or disposed of, it has been revealed.

The Ministry of Justice responded to a freedom of information request from the Gazette to confirm that the seven sites – some of which have been closed for more than five years – are still in its ownership.

Three of the buildings – Chichester Combined Court, Fleetwood Magistrates’ Court and Telford County Court – have been put to use as temporary Nightingale courts. The fate of Chichester Magistrates’ Court will be decided alongside the combined court once the temporary arrangements end.

Contracts have been conditionally exchanged for Exeter Magistrates’ Court, derelict for four years.

Harlow Magistrates’ Court, which closed a year earlier, is still being actively marketed, while Scunthorpe Magistrates’ Court – vacated in December 2016 – has not yet been offloaded either.

Between 2010 and 2019, more than half the courts across England and Wales were shut. In total, 164 out of 320 magistrates’ courts closed, with 151 parliamentary constituencies containing a closed court. The sale of court buildings raised at least £223m.

Efforts to dispose of the remaining sites have run into various problems. Planning permission to turn the buildings at Exeter into 950 student accommodation units was refused by the city council in February. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall admitted in April that a viable solution for this site ‘remains some way off’.

It was reported in 2020 that a developer had come forward to convert the Scunthorpe site into flats, but the MoJ is still seeking the surrender of a long lease.

The court at Fleetwood, meanwhile, has taken on extra importance since it was closed and then reopened as a temporary building. The government has announced it would create two new courtrooms at the site to accommodate the closure of nearby Blackpool Magistrates’ and County Court building due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).