---

5 Nov 2009 : Column 1202W—continued

Magistrates Courts: Closures

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many magistrates courts have been closed in each criminal justice area in each year since 1997. [295992]

Mr. Straw: The following table provides details of the magistrates court closures (broken down into HMCS Criminal Justice Areas) which have taken place since 1997. Officials estimate that 240 magistrates courts were closed from 1979-97 and 124 from 1997 to date.

5 Nov 2009 : Column 1203W

5 Nov 2009 : Column 1204W

5 Nov 2009 : Column 1205W

5 Nov 2009 : Column 1206W

Magistrates courts closed since 1997 and their HMCS criminal justice area
	Courthouse closed	Criminal justice area
1997	Ellesmere Port	Cheshire and Merseyside
1997	Hampstead	London North and West
1997	Marylebone	London Central and South
1997	Otley	North and West Yorkshire
1997	Stokeley	North and West Yorkshire
1997	Thorne	Humber and South Yorkshire
1997	Hebburn	Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria
1997	Seaham	Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria
1997	South Shields (Kepple Street)	Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria
1997	Bromsgrove	Black Country, Staffs and West Mercia
1997	Ledbury	Black Country, Staffs and West Mercia
1997	Chippenham (Market Place)	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
1997	Ashton under Lyne (Manchester Road)	Cumbria and Lancashire
1997	Duckinsfield	Cumbria and Lancashire
1997	Braintree	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1997	Clacton on Sea	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1997	Pontardawe	South East Wales
1997	Bargoed	South East Wales
1997	Monmouth	South East Wales
1997	Pontlttyn	South East Wales
1997	Pontypool	South East Wales
1998	Malton	North and West Yorkshire
1998	Ripon	North and West Yorkshire
1998	Marlborough Street	London Central and South
1998	Clerkenwell	London North and West
1998	Saffron Walden	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1998	Bishop's Stortford	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1998	Hatfield	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1998	Hitchin	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
1998	Market Rasen	Leicestershire, Lincoln and Northamptonshire
1998	Lutterworth	Leicestershire, Lincoln and Northamptonshire
1998	Chertsey	Surrey and Sussex
1998	Farnham	Surrey and Sussex
1998	Oxted	Surrey and Sussex
1998	Sheerness	Kent
1998	West Malling	Kent
1998	Barnard Castle	Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria
1998	Lytham	Cumbria and Lancashire
1998	Corwen	North Wales
1998	Diss	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	Felixstowe	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	Haverhill	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	Saxmundam	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	Stowmarket	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	Newmarket	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1998	March	Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk
1999	Christchurch	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
1999	Stow on the Wold	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
1999	Abingdon	Thames Valley
1999	Henley on Thames	Thames Valley
1999	Windsor	Thames Valley
1999	Morley	North and West Yorkshire
1999	Pudsey	North and West Yorkshire
2000	Ampthill	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
2000	Biggleswade	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
2000	Dunstable	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
2000	Leighton Buzzard	Bedfordshire, Essex and Hertfordshire
2000	Lichfield	Black Country, Staffs and West Mercia
2000	Keighley	North and West Yorkshire
2000	Keswick	Cumbria and Lancashire
2000	Windermere	Cumbria and Lancashire
2000	Wigton	Cumbria and Lancashire
2000	Appleby	Cumbria and Lancashire
2000	Gravesend	Kent
2000	Wootton Bassett	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
2000	Abergele	North Wales
2001	Alfreton	Nottingham and Derbyshire.
2001	Ashbourne	Nottingham and Derbyshire
2001	Bakewell	Nottingham and Derbyshire
2001	Matlock	Nottingham and Derbyshire
2001	Middleton	Nottingham and Derbyshire
2001	Leigh	Greater Manchester
2001	Womborne	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2001	Leek	Black Country, Staffs and West Mercia
2001	Worcester	Black Country, Staffs and West Mercia.
2001	Warrington Patten Hall	Cheshire and Merseyside
2001	Macclesfield Park Green	Cheshire and Merseyside
2001	Bideford	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Exmouth	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Kingsbridge	Devon and Cornwall
2001	South Molton	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Teignmouth	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Tavistock	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Axminster	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Tiverton	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Newquay	Devon and Cornwall
2001	Southampton (Commercial Road)	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
2001	Gillingham	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
2001	Bridlington	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Brough	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Driffield	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Hull (Guildhall)	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Hull (Lowgate)	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Pocklington	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Withensea	Humber and South Yorkshire
2001	Arundel	Surrey and Sussex
2002	Bridgnorth	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2002	Leominster	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2002	Evesham	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2002	Fakenham	Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk
2002	Tunbridge Wells	Kent
2002	Beaconsfield	Thames Valley
2002	Buckingham	Thames Valley
2003	Thame	Thames Valley
2003	Droitwitch	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2003	Rugeley	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2003	Whitchurch	Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire
2003	Machynlleth	North Wales
2003	Lampeter	Mid and West Wales
2003	Tenby	Mid and West Wales
2003	Camberley	Surrey and Sussex
2003	Trowbridge	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
2003	Chester Le Street	Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria
2003	Long Sutton	Leicestershire, Lincoln and Northamptonshire
2003	Caistor	Leicestershire, Lincoln and Northamptonshire
2003	Horncastle	Leicestershire, Lincoln and Northamptonshire
2004	Richmond	North and West Yorkshire
2004	Stourbridge	Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and Coventry
2005	-	-
2006	Bow Street	London Central and South
2007	Flax Bourton	Avon and Somerset
2007	Marylebone	London Central and South
2008	Aldridge	Black Country, Staffordshire and West Mercia
2008	Pickering	North and West Yorkshire
2009	Devizes	Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Note: Since the creation of HMCS in 2005 the number of HMCS criminal justice areas has reduced from the original 42. The above table should enable the reader to identify the relevant county relating to the closure.

---