Tuesday 14 December 2010

Llangefni Magistrates' Court to close, County Court repreived

The UK Government this afternoon announced the findings of HMCS's Court Estate Rationalisation programme. There is both good and bad news for Anglesey.

The bad news is that, following the recent consultation, Llangefni Magistrates' Court will be closed along with 12 others throughout Wales. The good news is that the Government has confirmed that the County Court in Llangefni has won a reprieve.

The closure of Llangefni Magistrates' Court will be implemented as part of a phased programme starting in April 2011. I am informed that it is hoped that staff will only be reduced by natural wastage, but voluntary redundancy packages will also apparently be considered. Cases that would previously have been heard at Llangefni will now in all likelihood be heard at either Holyhead or Caernarfon Magistrates' Courts.

Many of the courts which will close in Wales are quite old and not able to provide suitable facilities for victims or witnesses. These changes will mean that the money saved from closing under-used or not-fit-for-purpose courts will be able to be reinvested into modernising and improving other courts.

Even though I am very glad that the County Court in Llangefni has been reprieved, I am personally very saddened to see Llangefni's Magistrates' Court close -- I would have preferred if they could both have stayed open. However the rationalisation of the courts throughout the UK is part of a larger reform of the justice system which also includes sentencing and rehabilitation and changes to legal aid. If you are affected by these changes and would like to speak to me regarding them I am happy to meet with anyone at any time -- please get in touch using the 'Contact me' section above.

41 comments:

Glyn Pritchard-Jones said...

Paul, the Court was underfunded and understaffed and therefore court decisions were taking an inordinate length of time to be issued.

I say choke the £8Bn of overseas aid and use it for the UK.

Why is the fabric of our society disappearing?

All changer please!!

Anonymous said...

A Worried Insider says-Please don't close the Courts yet we have some Councillors and Officers who will be attending VERY soon !!

Anonymous said...

Exactly, great if they were to be carted across from the offices in chains, across the river into the dock, then we will have fun....It's been a long time coming..

The mongs will be pleading for their rights, what rights??? They took ours away, so if they think they have any they can think again, maybe this website will be the talk of their christams pasrty tonight?

Anonymous said...

Ive got to get new glasses, as well as new ideas, we must defend these criminals, if we don't we're as bad as them.
Who said that?

Rumpole of Llangefni

Anonymous said...

Unlike the Druid, I wish we didn't have any courts here on the island.

We need to simply remove the bad people from our society .... and then we have no reason for the courts anymore.

Anonymous said...

The first one in the court should be that cheeky bastard, Kontiki Turnip, how dare he insinuate that the elected sail down to the Council Offices on a raft of turnips? We all know that this is impossible without a licence, and licences are NOT issued without a good arse rodgering, sentence and jail kontiki turnip before the court closes, life sentence for taking the piss.

Judge Pen Rwdan

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Anonymous said...

Another case before the bench my Lord, I give you the Druid of Anglesey, his crime My Lord, allowing people to write on his blog site, freedom of speech my Lord, Democracry.

DEMOCRARCY!! Off with his head! We don't allow democracy in Anglesey!

Anonymous said...

Another interesting case my Lord, we have incompetence, greed, malice, infighting, political greed, bullying, loss of faith by the people, weak management, poor leadership, bad planning decisions, you name it my Lord, this docket is full of filth and shit.

Hand it over, let me see, oh yes I know of this lot, Anglesey Council....case dismissed, you cannot polish a turd, you should know that by now...next!

Anonymous said...

An intersting docket today my Lord, it's to do with Human Rights, an application with a view of will this Court recognise the Human Rights Act?

What's that then? That's the first I've heard of it in Llangefni?

Exactly, My Lord, Exactly, let's not complicate things, let's just forget I mentioned it. cup of tea my Lord?

Two sugars and chocolate fingers.

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Anonymous said...

David's looking for a safe house, how you fixed for the odd night John. nothing to fancy mind. Just your normal run of the mill pent-shed all paid for by the beleaguered out of work, no bread on the table folk of Anglesey.

Go on then, put another nought on the end, no-one in finance will notice it, they haven't over the Dependence Allowances scam. so why worry now?

I here they are closing the Court, buying 8 new whipping stocks 4 new gallows and 42 new ice cream vans to keep the punters happy. got any unsigned cheques you don't wan't before I have to send my edited accounts to Companies house. Ops there I go again, never did know when to keep my mouth shut.

Anonymous said...

If those in high positions such as Leaders of Councils were to be given public floggings for the bullshit they spout, would the following fit that criteria. particularly after causing so much divide and strife among Councillors:

If we are to move forward as a council we must do so together, to that end my door is always open to any and every member.
Clive McGregor. May 2009.???

Anonymous said...

After reading his Terms of Engagement, a good flogging twice a day in public is well in order.

Brawd o Amlwch said...

It is entirely reasonable and appropriate in these hard times to rationalise and cut back deeply to what is affordable....if we can't afford it, don't buy it !
It is entirely reasonable to conduct Anglesey's Magistrates Court and County Court work at Holyhead, or at the multi-million pound CJC at Caernarfon....it is currently underutilised.
The justice system or its service will not be affected in any significant way.
We should learn not to object to essential economic cuts... our central and local governments have overspent for far too long.....now the chickens are coming home to roost........lets get real.
And yes, it'll be the private sector again that will get us out of it....eventually !

Photon said...

"These changes will mean that the money saved from closing under-used or not-fit-for-purpose courts will be able to be reinvested into modernising and improving other courts."

Well, that wasn't the case with C'fon's old courthouse; they aren't able to do anything with that due to its listed status. Instead, we got a PFI deal under Labour for the £12 million Criminal Justice Centre. The state could clearly have built it for a lot less but, you know, that kind of sensible thing is sooo yesterday...

Anonymous said...

Just called in to see what's what and I see the resident nutter has been multi posting again. Ah well, thank God for care in the community although you would think that his carer would notice wouldn't you.

Anonymous said...

Chris Ruane just made a complete dick of himself yet again on PMQs. I bet the people of VoC are squirming with embarrasment at this buffoons' performance.
Rather than asking a question that may help his contituents (are they poorer than IoA in West Rhyl after 13+ years of his representation?) he tried a feeble attempt of snidey tribal politics.What a dork.

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Anonymous said...

Ah the painful blogger calling the halfwit for multi posting, at least he makes an effort to render more light heartedness on a dismal way of life, keep polishing that turd that's what hurts his knockers, the truth.. his carer by the way mr nasty is the voice of the people whi have been ignored for years, so go back to making Bowles' tea like a good boy.

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Anonymous said...

An interesting case today my Lord, we have people moaning because they have no work, no future, no jobs, they want to know what's going to happen in the future?

Whose doing the moaning?

The people, my Lord.

People! what people are these?

The people of Anglesey, my Lord.

What does their MP and AM say about it all?

Nothing, my Lord......

Oh dear,

Exactly.

Anonymous said...

How much has YM Investigations Limited received from IoACC and for what exactly?

Anonymous said...

Anon 15 07

Thanks for confirming that you multi-post.
The one at 15 07 made as much sense as all the others.
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Nil.
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You truly are striving to be a wit. Keep going as you are half way there.

Anonymous said...

Ask your mum she knows how funny I am.

Anonymous said...

I just have. She says you must be the funny one who hangs around the......?

Anonymous said...

RHOSNEIGR LIBRARY .

"I have not done a deal with Clive McGregor in return for joining his Group on the Alliance to save Rhosneigr Library". LIAR.

SEE PAGE 7. HOLYHEAD AND ANGLESEY MAIL TODAY.

Anonymous said...

COLLABORATE IN LLANGEFNI FIRST.

HEATED ALTERCATIONS SHOW THE PLAID CYMRU COUNCIL GROUP IS DIVIDED ON THE ALLIANCES TERMS OF HATE.

SEE PAGE 15 HOLYHEAD AND ANGLESEY MAIL TODAY

McGREGOR REFUSED TO BE DRAWN ON THE ISSUE.

An Eye On... said...

Personally, if we had to lose a Magistrates Court I would have thought it would have been more sensible to drop Holyhead and keep Llangefni being as Llangefni is more central than Holyhead. It would also mean that all the administration - Count Court, Magistrates, Registrars, Council offices etc were all in the one town.

Then come the inevitable day that Anglesey is 'welded' back into Gwynedd, they can all move into County Hall (or 'ex' County Hall as it would then become.)

Richard Sletzer said...

Time and again in discussion of Angelsey's problems one word crops up consistently . It's "Llangefni".

Llangefni is the socialist citadel of the island - and has been since the end of WW2 . If the loss of the local magistrates court is a first step towards dismantling Llangefni's tawdry and corrupt influence over the rest of the island then this is something we should all welcome.

The administration of Anglesey's justice and administration should be returned where it belongs, to the Royal Borough of Beaumaris - the historic seat of county governance.

The excellent jail at Beaumaris is in good shape and the courthouse is already imbued with centuries of tradition.

Llangefni should be stripped of its acquired civic trappings, and self-aggrandised status. The socialist spiders who breed there and who've woven the political web that's paralysed the whole of the island should be swept out for good.

.........Then, and only then, will Anglesey revive and thrive.

kp said...

Richard, I like the way you think.

Have you ever thought of standing as AM for Anglesey Conservatives?

An Eye On... said...

Richard Sletzer, don't be stupid. In an area 'blessed' with such appalling transport infrastructure as Anglesey the administrative departments need to be as central as possible. Keeping a Magistrates Court tucjed up in a corner up here in Holyhead is ridiculous. Moving everything lock, stock and barrel to Beaumaris is more so.

Anonymous said...

got to keep holyhead court open ,as its far more busier given the amount of scum and low life trouble makers that are in holyhead these days ,

oh know doubt this post will be deleted as have others .

;) said...

@ R Sletzer - "the Royal Borough of Beaumaris - the historic seat of county governance".

Ahem ... Newborough was also the county town for Anglesey ... so maybe a return to the roving court of the time of the Princes ... two days each in Beaumaris, Llangefni and Newborough and Sunday off for the observance of 'temperance' ... or then again maybe not.

Anonymous said...

2.42........if we go back further, it was Aberffraw that was the regional capital....the local member holds ambitions to hold Court there again sometime, in Ty Maer !

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Anonymous said...

Given that it was Longshanks that created the first entity known as the County of Anglesey how can the others have been the County Towns?.Anglesey as a single entity didn't exist.

And as for Newborough. Didn't he turf the meddlesome Welsh from Beaumaris on the sand dunes further west and call it a new borough? It certainly wasn't called that when the Princes were there

Prometheuswrites said...

Anon 10.51:
Indeed it was and still is called Rhosyr. It was one of the 'new boroughs' created by 'Ed 1st' - though for forty years or so it belonged to the Spainish crown.

at the time of the 'relocation' Rhosyr was one of the most fertile parts of Ynys Mon - it was only after the great storms in the early 1400's that the sand dunes we know today covered the land - in a three day period over 80 acres of church owned lands were covered over with sand.

I don't know whether it was subject to the draconian laws governing the Welsh as was the case in Beaumaris.

"Native Welsh residents of Beaumaris were largely disqualified from holding any civic office, carrying any weapon, holding assemblies and were not allowed to purchase houses or land within the Borough". - from Wikipedia.

Anonymous said...

Holyhead Court's are full of Goskin smack heads. I know, because I pass them every Tuesday.

Anonymous said...

""Anonymous said...Holyhead Court's are full of Goskin smack heads. I know, because I pass them every Tuesday.""

On your way in to answer bail is it? ;)