Future of Newbury courthouse is still uncertain

West Berkshire Liberal Democrat spokeswoman Judith Bunting (pictured) was the latest politician to be rebuffed.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon similarly failed to win satisfactory assurances from the deputy director of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service, Chris Jennings.
The viability of the courthouse is once again in doubt, despite a hard-won reprieve in 2010.
Increasingly, local cases are allocated to courts in Slough and Reading, and the number of days the Newbury bench sits has been cut, leading to accusations that it is being deliberately under-used to justify imminent closure.
In his reply to Mrs Bunting, Lord McNally repeated the official line that the service was “looking at the most efficient use of our estate”, but promised another consultation before any potential closure.
He added: “I also note concerns you raise about the allocation of cases in the Berkshire area. The number of cases being brought before West Berkshire magistrates has reduced, with a corresponding reduction in the number of court sittings.”
However, critics claim that this is the result of increased use of police cautions, which allow offenders to bypass the court.
In May the Newbury Weekly News reported how Thames Valley Police had arranged community resolutions for serious offences including sex assault, burglary and violent crime. Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request showed that the force had arranged 2,675 community resolutions for 2009/2010.
This rose to 5,680 for 2010/2011.
In 2009 Mr Benyon said: “Magistrates tell me that, during the past year, the workload of the Newbury court has dropped by 50 per cent. But crime hasn’t fallen by 50 per cent.”
He warned this could threaten the future of Newbury courthouse’s, which prompted HMCTS to announce that there were no closure plans.
However, within months, West Berkshire Magistrates’ Court was indeed earmarked for closure, leading to the massive campaign and temporary reprieve.
Mr Benyon said that he was fearful history was about to repeat itself.
Meanwhile, Mrs Bunting said she was not reassured by Lord McNally’s response and was considering her next move.