Former Shrewsbury court to reopen to help clear case backlog
A former crown court at Shirehall will be reopened for business to ease a backlog in cases partly caused by the coronavirus crisis.
The judiciary has faced criticism over the delays in proceedings since last spring's lockdown and now efforts to keep the wheels of justice turning will be stepped up to include the recommissioning of rooms at Shrewsbury to allow for extra space for jury deliberations in the first instance, followed by hearings in the near future.
The move was revealed by Shropshire's High Sheriff Dean Harris who praised judges and magistrates working in the county's court service for their efforts to keep the services going despite the pandemic.
Mrs Harris has served as a magistrate for more than 20 years, but has not been presiding over cases during her year as the county's first citizen.
“I know first-hand how committed the Shropshire judiciary and Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) staff are and how hard they work, and this year has been especially challenging for them.
"In light of ever-changing rules and guidance and restrictions on case listings, good progress has been made in the Telford Magistrates’ Court (Family & Criminal and Youth) to work through the backlogs.
“Despite all the restrictions, they have recently been able to swear in nine adult court and three family court new justices, and an additional crown court facility at Shirehall has now been recommissioned so hopefully it won’t be long before they’re able to list cases there as well.
"We will then have four court centres in the county.
Social distancing
“Thank you to all of Shropshire’s judges, magistrates who are volunteers and HMCTS staff,” Mrs Harris said.
Due to social distancing measures Shrewsbury Crown Court building next to Shirehall is only currently able to use one of its two courtrooms when trials are being heard, which is reducing the number of cases which can be listed.
The Ministry of Justice told the Shropshire Star the move to hire rooms at Shirehall was to create more "deliberation space".
A so-called temporary Nightingale Court also opened in Telford last summer to enable more family and tribunal court cases to be dealt with.
Shrewsbury Crown Court was moved from Shirehall into modern justice centre facilities at the town's former magistrates court building, in Preston Street, two years ago.
A recent Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report highlighted issues with under-funding which resulted in widespread backlogs prior to last March when the first lockdown started. The Government has allocated a £142 million national fund has been allocated to improve court technology.
Mrs Harris said she wanted to recognise those who had been working to minimise disruption to the service, including the civil and family courts which had seen a significant rise in applications for court orders to protect children and victims of domestic abuse.
