LITIGATION solicitor Rachel Broughton, of Milne Moser, Kendal, is one of a group of lawyers campaigning to keep Kendal Magistrates and County Court open. The building is one of 91 courts across the country recommended for closure under cost-cutting measures by The Ministry of Justice. Here she explains why it should remain open.

A PUBLIC consultation has opened into government plans to close Kendal and Workington, Courts, a process that is due to close at the beginning of October 2015.

I am very concerned at what the closure of our court would mean for our area of Cumbria. I am fully engaged in, and support, The Westmorland Gazette’s ‘Keep Justice Local’ campaign.

Kendal Magistrates and County Court is an invaluable local resource enabling the 103,500 people within the bounds of South Lakeland to obtain access to civil and criminal justice. Cutbacks in recent years have seen court sittings reduce but we are now in danger of losing this resource for good and current plans would leave Cumbria with only a court in Barrow and one in Carlisle.

Once a justice system that was the envy of the world, magistrates and county courts were founded on the principle of local justice. That principle is now under ever greater threat as more and more services are centralised and combined, further and further away from the people that need them.

Too little attention is paid by those in government to the great geographical challenges that come with living and operating in a rural county like Cumbria. With public transport facilities limited, access to courts will undoubtedly be a struggle to anyone without their own means of transport.

That means a financial and emotional struggle for victims, for witnesses, for families, for defendants and professionals as all have to seek justice outside their home area.

Is that really access to justice at all?

This is a public consultation, a chance for all those potentially affected by this plan to have their say. It is important for local people to have their say and contribute their voice to efforts to save the court building but also the concept of local justice in South Lakeland.

An online petition on the website www.change.org can be accessed by entering ‘Save Kendal Magistrates Court Petition’ into google. I would encourage every member of the community to take a moment to consider: What if it were me?

There may come a time in anyone’s life when they need access to a family, civil or criminal court and realise then, perhaps too late, what a valuable resource we let slip through our fingers.

Have your voice heard!