The Ministry of Justice says the 1930-built site has issues with disabled access, security, cramped waiting areas and poor toilet facilities. It argues these would be better addressed in proposed alternative courts. Sara-Jayne Fildes, president of Chichester District Law Society, claims that other courts will not be able to cope with the volume of work transferred and suggests that the value of the city centre court site was a bigger factor behind the proposal than demand.

A ‘legal desert’

The court had a 78 per cent usage rate during 2014/5 and is the only Crown court in West Sussex, which has a population of over 800,000. Bill Emerson, of Chichester’s Pallant Chambers, said: ‘There will be no local justice or access to justice for a large proportion of the residents of West Sussex, creating a legal desert.’ Source: The Law Society Gazette