Farron in final plea to keep our local court open

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has today written to the Justice Secretary in a final plea to keep Kendal Court open.

Tim urged Liz Truss to reconsider her decision after it was revealed that the Court is due to permanently close its doors on 30 June 2017.

Recently a Ministry of Justice source claimed that more than 97% of local residents would still be able to reach their required court "by car within an hour", but during the consultation Cumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner revealed that over 80% of those attending courts in Cumbria actually travel by public transport.

Commenting, Tim said, "The blow that this will deliver for access to local justice is incalculable. Under the new system some local residents will have to travel up to two and a half hours to Barrow or Lancaster to access the justice system, and this journey will come at considerable cost.

"The government's consultation showed that 98% of local people opposed this move, yet despite this they have pressed ahead with the closure.

"This decision shows a total disregard for rural communities like ours. Justice will be diminished as people will be put off going to court because of the time and money involved. We will also end up with the perverse situation in which defendant, victim and witnesses could all be sat together for hours on the same bus to Barrow - to suggest that this wouldn't have an impact on the system's ability to deliver justice is in my opinion absurd!"