Keep the court in Kendal I write as ex-Leader of Cumbria County Council along with my colleague, Peter Naylor, a former Chairman of the county council.
The closure of Kendal Magistrates’ Court, along with that at Workington, will leave only Barrow and Carlisle with a court presence.
In a county the size of Cumbria - 72 miles long and 56 miles wide - where the two courts would be at the extremities, a very great deal of travelling would be entailed for all concerned with justice.
It is hardly possible for litigants, police and lawyers to travel from, say, Sedbergh or Grasmere, to a hearing in Barrow or Carlisle and return home in a day. The accumulated police and legal costs of these cases would surely surpass the suggested annual present costs of £214k.
In the year of the anniversary of Magna Carta, we must do all we can to ensure that people can be tried by their peers and that swiftly.
We urge you to retain the Kendal Court.
Trevor Farrer
Witherslack
Peter Naylor
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