The future of Wrexham Magistrates' Court appears to have been secured, after the Ministry of Justice confirmed to the local MP that new cells would be built at the site.
Wrexham has been unable to handle custody cases since the neighbouring police station, whose cell accommodation it relied upon, closed at the end of January 2019. Custody cases are currently being dealt with 12 miles away at Mold Justice Centre, which has sufficient capacity for the job.
Anticipating the closure of the police station, Her Majesty's Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) submitted a planning application for the new cells in January last year. Unfortunately the application was snarled up in red tape, owing to the presence of of established trees occupying the proposed development site.
Wrexham County Borough Council sought to protect those trees by making a tree preservation order, but it now appears that some sort of compromise has been reached between HMCTS and the Council.
Ian Lucas MP, who raised concerns about the future of Wrexham Magistrates' Court in Parliament, said: "The retention of the court is important to Wrexham's civic status as the biggest town in North Wales and also commercially for legal firms locally who employ staff in Wrexham town centre because the court is here.
"We must all learn lessons about how we allowed the old cells to be replaced without their replacement being guaranteed, but I am grateful to all who have spoken out to support the campaign."
HMCTS has confirmed that custody cases should return to Wrexham by the end of 2020.
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