Court closure 'short-sighted' - Farron

Today was the last working day for Kendal Magistrates' Court and County Court. Local MP Tim Farron campaigned hard against the closure, and has today expressed his disappointment at the government's "short-sighted" decision to press ahead with the closure, which he says will damage local access to justice.

The government's decision will leave local residents, as well as the police, facing long journeys to access justice.

Tim said: "Kendal has been a centre for justice for generations, yet today the government is taking this off us. This is a sad day, and will be looked back on in years to come as a counter-productive decision by a Conservative government that failed to look beyond the short-term savings that could be made.

"This short-sighted decision will make life harder for the police, for victims and for their families, and access to justice will be diminished.

"What's worse, if the government had looked at the bigger picture and decided instead to move other crown court work to Kendal, as I repeatedly urged them to do, they could have kept a viable local court, saved money and secured local access to justice.

"The government was wrong to press ahead with these plans for closure despite widespread local opposition. I'll now fight to bring these services back to Kendal."