This week marked the end of the consultation period on plans by Her Majesty’s Court Services (HMCS) to close 103 magistrate and county courts across the country, including the court in Goole.
The campaign to save Goole Magistrates has been supported by local JPs, Councillors, the East Riding Council and local MP Andrew Percy. In a final appeal to prevent the closure, Mr Percy met with Justice Minister Jonathon Djanogly MP, to present the Minister with a petition signed by hundreds of local residents.
Andrew says, "I was delighted that the Minister and his staff agreed to meet me one-on-one to discuss the proposed closure in more detail. Having raised this with the Minister on two separate occasions in Parliament, the Minister was more than well aware of the proposals in relation to Goole.
I did however want to make the point again that the savings that could be made from closing Goole are likely to be so small as to not matter, or to not exist at all. The building is rented for a pepper corn rent, it offers excellent and direct access to the Police station next door, and it is in a reasonable state of repair.
I also made the point again that getting to Beverley via public transport is incredibly difficult, particularly for those people living in the rural villages around Goole. He seemed genuinely interested in this issue and questioned his officials as to why Beverley had been chosen to take on the work.
I was keen to learn why Goole had been chosen for closure in the East Riding and was informed that apparently Beverley and Bridlington Magistrates Courts are under private finance initiatives that can’t be broken for some years. In addition to that, the last Government had cut the court budget by 7% for each of their last three years in office.
Nevertheless, I explained to the Minister that there were very strong reasons why Goole should be treated differently and as a consequence I have now submitted a full objection to the proposed closure outlining these.
Now that the consultation process has ended, HMCS will assess the responses and we do not yet know when the final decision will be taken. I am very proud of the way that people have come together in Goole to fight this closure and I am especially grateful for the excellent and very lengthy objection East Riding Council have submitted too.”