MP Opposes Closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates Court

26th June 2010
MP opposes closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates Court

Local MP, Gordon Henderson, has written to the Minister for Justice and has urged him to remove Sittingbourne Magistrates Court from the list of courts being considered for closure.

In his letter Mr Henderson drew attention to the fact that a number of local communities are high in the national league of deprived areas and pointed out that people living in those communities were more likely to use courts than those living in more affluent areas.

Mr Henderson also highlighted the difficulty of people living in the east of Sheppey getting to the Medway Towns, particularly if they had to attend an afternoon court session.

Mr Henderson said:
“Closing Sittingbourne Magistrates Court would cause hardship to a lot of local people and I will fight it all the way.

“We lost our court on Sheppey and I don’t want to see the same thing happen again. People who live in our rural communities and don’t have their own transport would have difficulty getting to a court in Medway.

“As I put in my letter closing Sittingbourne Magistrates Court would turn justice into a public transport lottery.”

DOWNLOAD HERE! - Letter sent to the Minister of Justice, Jonathon Djanogly