Plans to close Rochdale Magistrates Court announced

Rochdale Magistrates Court.

Rochdale Magistrates Court may be closed and its workload shifted to Bury Magistrates Court as the Government aims to save £15.3m in running costs and £21.5m in maintenance costs across the justice sector.

If the move were to go ahead, Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood Local Justice Area would merge with the Bury Local Justice Area.

A consultation paper for Greater Manchester was published on 23 June 2010 outlining the proposal, which would also see Salford Magistrates Court align itself with the Manchester City department.

There are currently 42 staff at Rochdale Magistrates Court and 165 magistrates. By transferring responsibility to Bury, an estimated £568,000 savings will be made in operational costs and £416,000 in maintenance spending.

The report adds that court costs need to be reduced to be more cost effective, because some courts hear too few cases and others do not provide adequate disabled access or prisoner holding facilities.

Rochdale previously handled DVLA cases for Greater Manchester and was one of three sites to have a Television Licences Records Office in the region. This work would need to be reallocated to other courts.

Courts Minister Jonathan Djanogly said: “When public finances are under pressure, it is vital to eliminate waste and reduce costs. The Government is committed to supporting local justice, enabling justice to be done and seen to be done in our communities.

“Magistrates hear the majority of criminal cases and this voluntary contribution will continue to be strongly supported by the government as the bedrock of our justice system.

He added that he wanted to reduce the amount of disputes taken to court and aims to explore other methods of resolving them:

“We should not think about access to justice as simply a question of length of the journey to the nearest court. In the future, we need to look at whether through the more effective use of video and telephone links and other technology including online services, we can improve the public’s experience of the justice system.”

The report adds that there is approximately seven miles, or a 34-36 minute bus journey between the town centres of Rochdale and Bury, and that a day ticket between them costs £4.