England: Third of courthouses closed and sold for up to £250m

The number of courts fell from 923 in 2010 to 628 by the end of 2019, The Times reports.

Magistrates’ courts have been worst affected, with the number falling by half from 323, while the number of county courts fell from 240 to 150, and the number of employment and immigration tribunals fell from 83 to 65.

There were smaller drops for family courts, from 185 to 168, and crown courts, from 92 to 84.

Figures from the National Audit Office on the sale of 61 courthouses suggest that the amount raised from the sale of all former courthouses has been around £122 million and potentially up to £250 million.

Ian Kelcey, co-chairman of the Law Society’s criminal law committee of the Law Society, told The Times: “The system is in crisis now and needs an injection of cash for police, prosecution, courts and the defence, otherwise it will crumble into sand.

“The court estate — or what is left of it — is crumbling round our ears. You only have to visit some courts to see how poorly maintained they are.”