BURY Magistrates Court is to close amid massive Government budget cuts, the Bury Times can reveal.

The announcement was made to staff at the Tenters Street court this morning following a lengthy consultation process led by the Ministry of Justice.

The decision was made by the Lord Chancellor, Michael Gove, after a report said that the court was being run at 51-per-cent capacity, otherwise known as its 'utilisation rate'.

It means that, as of 2017, all magistrates and county court cases related to incidents in Bury will be dealt with at Salford and Manchester Magistrates Court.

Some tribunal hearings in Bury will move to Bolton, Rochdale or Manchester.

Staff have been told that no jobs will be lost as they will move to Manchester over the next 12 months.

The MoJ has said the move will take place between January 2017 and March 2017.

It is thought that the land on which Bury Magistrates Court stands will be sold off.  

That will generate a one-off profit and there will be annual saving of £533,000 - the court's annual running costs.

The court employs 35 staff who work with magistrates hearings and 15 staff who work on country court hearings.

An MoJ report on the consultation said: "A total of 68 responses were received in relation to the court.

"Of these, 24 were from court staff, 11 were from other public-sector bodies, 10 were from magistrates, nine were from professional users, six were from members of the judiciary, four were from members of the public, one was from the criminal justice system, one was from a Member of Parliament (ivan Lewis), one was from an uncategorised stakeholder and one was from a union/staff group.

"Three were in support of the proposals whilst, 64 were opposed and one was neutral.

"HM Courts & Tribunals Service acknowledge and accept that some people will need to travel further to reach their nearest court, and this may result in increased travel costs.

"However, we do not feel these travel times and costs are excessive considering the infrequency with which people are required to attend court.

"The retention of Bury courthouse would not address the current underuse of Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court and Manchester County Court, or the need for HM Courts & Tribunals Service to reduce the current and future cost of running its estate and to maximise the capital receipts from surplus estate for reinvestment.

"We are looking to modernise our practices and adopt more streamlined ways of working, using our estate more intelligently and flexibly to reduce running costs and to increase the multifunctional court space – allowing different court and tribunal jurisdictions to share locations.

"HM Courts & Tribunals Service will consider making alternative arrangements for those court users who are unable to travel for exceptional reasons."

Among the objectors were Rochdale Council and Bury Law Centre.

One solicitor told the MoJ: "The loss of the local court is likely to have serious impact on the economy of the local area.

"It will undoubtedly mean that local solicitors already impacted by substantial changes to the criminal justice system will have to close."

A source close to the court said that, while they were relieved that no staff would be made redundant and that the closure would not happen for a year, it will create "huge problems" for the court system.

The source said: "The will be an incredible amount of judicial time wasted as solicitors, police, probation service workers, victims and defendants are required to travel into Manchester."