NORTH Avon Magistrates’ Court in Yate is to close, the government has confirmed.

Justice Minister Shailesh Vara announced on Thursday (February 11) that the court on Kenney Way was among 86 courts to close across the country following a consultation on plans to axe 91.

He said: “On average, the 86 courts we are closing are used for just over a third of their available hearing time. That is equivalent to less than two days a week.

“It will still be the case that after these closures, over 97 per cent of citizens will be able to reach their required court within an hour by car.”

He added: “Court closures are difficult decisions; local communities have strong allegiances to their local courts and I understand their concerns.

“But changes to the estate are vital if we are to modernise a system which everybody accepts is unwieldy, inefficient, slow, expensive to maintain and unduly bureaucratic.”

The HM Courts and Tribunals Service, will make £500million of savings from its leased building estate including £286,000 at the Yate court, had proposed closing either North Avon or Bath magistrates but has ruled the Bath court will stay open.

Thornbury and Yate’s Conservative MP Luke Hall said he felt ‘very strongly’ about saving the court and wrote to Mr Vara urging him to reconsider closing it.

Mr Hall said: “As this is designed as a cost-cutting measure, the incidents of cases not being heard will result in additional costs to Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunals Service, and prove contrary to what the closure is designed to do.”

The court, which has 12 custody cells and eight waiting rooms and includes a family and youth court with separate entrance, employs 13 staff and costs £286,000 annually to run. However, in 2014 it was only used to 28 per cent of its available capacity.