MP backs campaign to save Skipton courts

Led by Skipton MP Julian Smith, the campaign is to save both the magistrates and county courts.

“I look forward to leading a vigorous campaign to keep them,” said Mr Smith.

“I will be campaigning hard to make the case that these courts are uniquely positioned to serve our local community. I will be meeting with all those interested in saving the courts in the coming weeks and look forward to putting together a strong argument.”

The campaign has already received the backing of town and district leaders, solicitors, magistrates, the police and anti-crime organisations.

It follows last week’s shock announcement by the Government that it intended to close 40 per cent of the country’s magistrates’ courts as part of its cost-cutting.

Bingley Magistrates’ and Keighley County Courts also face the axe.

Court staff in Skipton were told last week that if the closure goes ahead, the magistrates’ business will go to Harrogate and the county business to Bradford.

Dr Neil Kendra JP, chairman of the Skipton bench, said magistrates would be holding a meeting to work out a strategy to save the Skipton courts from closure.

“Magistrates are very concerned about the negative impact that would result if the court at Skipton was closed. It’s not just the magistrates, but the staff and defendants who would find it very difficult to get to Harrogate for cases,” he said. “We will be holding a meeting early next week to see what the views are, but a significant number of magistrates are wanting to fight the closure.”

The leader of Craven District Council Coun Chris Knowles-Fitton said he was absolutely against the proposals.

“We’ve been through this before when closure was threatened some years ago and the arguments against are still very firmly the same,” he said. “People are going to be sent backwards and forwards to Harrogate, which is totally unacceptable.

“If Skipton Magistrates’ Court is closed, someone in Bentham could face a round trip of 100 miles.”

Skipton mayor Coun Robert Heseltine said he and the town council would do everything possible to fight the closure, although he feared the decision could already have been made.

“The effect of closing the court facilities at Skipton will mean anyone from North Craven would have a 100-mile- round journey to get to Harrogate and I find that completely unreasonable,” he said. “It seems the intention is to wipe Craven and its Skipton administration centre off the map.”

Stacey Mitchell, co-ordinator of Craven Community Safety Partnership, said: “The closure of Skipton magistrates would cause major difficulties for those people living in the more remote locations of Craven, especially those who would have to make use of the limited public transport links into Harrogate.

“It is not just the distance, but the cost and time off work, say for parents or guardians who have to attend as a responsible adult where a young person attends court.

“For those families on limited incomes where the travel costs will be reimbursed it hardly seems a cost-effective approach.”

Staff at the Skipton courts, who knew nothing ahead of last Wednesday’s announcement, were told the same day there would be a three-month consultation period, with the closure – if confirmed – likely to take place six months later.

The work of the magistrates’ court, including the Youth Court, would be transferred to Harrogate and the county court to Bradford.

At Friday’s magistrates’ court sitting, solicitors, crown prosecutors and magistrates were united in their opposition to the closure.

Former Skipton bench chairman Anne Kay said she hoped everyone would fight the closure threat.

And a Craven-based prosecutor said there was real concern about the sense of moving the Skipton courts 20 miles away to Harrogate.

Skipton-based solicitor John Mewies said the courts covered a large rural area stretching all the way to the South of Lancaster.

“What the mandarins in Whitehall don’t appreciate are the geographical realities of North Yorkshire,” he said.

“Defendants and witnesses are already travelling 30 miles to get to Skipton.”

And he felt sure people living near Lancaster would not want to travel 60 miles to get to court and back.

“If this is a cost-cutting exercise, it’s nonsense. Having lawyers travelling the length and breadth of the country will increase the cost,” he said.

And Keith Blackwell, of Keighley-based Blackwells Solicitors, said: “The whole thing doesn’t make sense, geographically or administratively. To go to Harrogate is just not practical, particularly for the poorest on benefits.”

The Ministry of Justice is looking at the potential closure of 103 magistrates and 54 county courts across the country, which it says are “underused and inadequate”.

It is claimed the closures would save around £15.3 million a year in running costs and an additional £21.5 million in maintenance costs.

MP Mr Smith is hoping to hold a public meeting in Skipton next Friday, July 9, at the Soroptimist Rooms at 7pm.

The public consultation on the future of the courts is due to run until September 15 and consultation documents are available on the Ministry of Justice website justice.gov .uk/consultations/consultations.htm