KEEP OUR COURT: Support our campaign to save Bolton Magistrates Court from closure

We exclusively revealed yesterday how proposals were being considered to close Bolton Magistrates’ Court in a bid to save money.

The plans were put forward by The Manchester Orbital Branch (MOB) of the Magistrates’ Association, which claimed the court was “not fit for purpose”.

It comes after a high level meeting between the Association’s chairman, John Fassenfelt, and Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, and could be one of a number of closures aimed at saving government cash.

Falling caseloads have also been identified as a possible reason to axe courts, with police now imposing more on-the-spot fines for certain “minor” offences which would previously have been dealt with by magistrates.

The Magistrates’ Association has stressed that no decisions have been made, and welcomed the fact it has been invited to offer its views to the government and take part in discussions over where money could be saved.

The Bolton News — more than 12 years after we ran a successful year-long campaign to save the 75-year-old building in Le Mans Crescent, when plans were announced by the Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court Committee in 2001 to shut it and transfer cases to Bury and other surrounding towns — is calling on readers to once again help fight the plans.

Our campaign has already won the backing of the borough’s political leaders and legal experts, who agree that a town of Bolton’s size and legal standing as the only area in Greater Manchester — outside Manchester itself — to have a Crown Court, should retain its magistrates’ court.

Bolton Council leader Cliff Morris said: “I would back the Bolton News’s campaign 100 per cent because where are people going to go?

“We have a crown court and a county court, so why would we want to not a magistrates’ court in our community?

“These people are vulnerable enough without having to go outside the borough.

“I would urge the people of Bolton to back this campaign.”

Bolton North East MP David Crausby added: “I was very much involved in the campaign in 2001 and wrote to the Lord Chancellor at the time.

“I 100 per cent back any campaign to save Bolton Magistrates’ Court the same way I did in 2001 and I hope it will be as successful under a Tory government in office as it was with a Labour government in office.”

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi — a former barrister — said: “It's important for Bolton to keep the magistrates’ court.

“I support the Bolton News’s campaign to keep it open and I will be writing to the Justice Secretary about this."

Bolton West MP Julie Hilling added: “We need a local court because it’s not just offenders you have to think about but witnesses who will have to travel further.

“I think it’s really important that Bolton retains its magistrates’ court.

“I back the Bolton News’s campaign to keep it open and congratulate the Bolton News for taking up this issue.”

Bolton’s Liberal Democrat leader Roger Hayes said: “It would cause massive problem for the people of Bolton if it was to close and we should have a magistrates’ court in the town.

“But we should also be campaigning to have it refurbished and we should be putting pressure on whoever we need to put pressure on.”

Councillor David Greenhalgh, leader of Bolton’s Conservative group, added: “Bolton has a proud history of local justice and we should fight to keep it.”

“This decision has not been made in Bolton and we shouldn’t roll over”

Solicitor Nick Ross, a partner at Bolton law firm Russell and Russell has represented thousands of clients at Bolton Magistrates’ Court since he began working there in 1986.

He said: “Bolton has always had a strong and independent legal identity. To have a crown court and no magistrates’ court would be perverse.

“It’s an effective courthouse with adequate space with two large rooms that would be the envy of many others, and it is regarded as a bastion of justice locally.

“The bench of Bolton has always been highly regarded.

“As a firm we were instrumental in opposing it last time and would back a campaign again, because we regard it as of considerable importance to the people of Bolton.”

Joe Egan from Bolton Law Society added: “It is inconceivable that a town the size of Bolton should lose its magistrates’ court.

“It is important that people before the court are dealt with by local magistrates who understand local conditions.

“Most of our clients who appear before the courts are in trouble because they have chaotic lifestyles and no money.

“Many have immense difficulty in getting to court in Bolton.

“Those difficulties will be multiplied if they have to travel to a distant town to have their cases dealt with.”

Back in 2001 the Save our Courts campaign even won the backing of then Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said at the time: “I understand why this has caused concern in Bolton and I know the town’s three MPs have been campaigning hard”.

The then Bolton Evening News also organised a petition which was signed by more than 21,000 of our readers to keep it open.

Sign our petition online here or download a printable petition form here:

KeepOurCourtPetition.pdf