Council slams closure of Chorley Magistrates' Court following date announcement

A decision was made last July to close the Court and move cases to Preston Magistrates’ Court, with staff left in limbo since over when the closure would take place.

The decision was finally announced last week that the Court will cease operations after Friday, March 29 and hearings moved to Preston beginning Monday, April 1.

“It’s of little relief that a final decision on the closure date has been announced, especially as it has taken more than six months for the date to be finalised and led to a lot of uncertainty for everyone involved with the court.

“After the closure we’ll take a keen interest in what happens with the site going forward as it’s an important site in the town centre.”

A HMCTS spokesperson said: "Chorley Magistrates Court will close on March 30.

"The closure of any court is not taken lightly and, where a service is moved outside the local area, this will only happen following a full public consultation.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP for Chorley, said the closure was "terrible news for local justice".

HMCTS has also said that money raised from the sale of court buildings will be reinvested into the justice system.