Taunton MP pushes government to speed up crown court repairs
Following initial repairs to its windows, roof and essential stonework, the grade two listed building closed its doors in September 2023
Taunton’s MP is urging the government to speed up long-running repairs to Somerset’s crown court, which has been closed for nearly two years.
Taunton Crown Court is housed within Shire Hall on the A38 Upper High Street, with the upper chamber often being used for full council meetings before Somerset Council was created.
Following initial repairs to its windows, roof and essential stonework, the grade two listed building closed its doors in September 2023 after contractors uncovered “serious structural issues” with the flooring.
Taunton and Wellington MP Gideon Amos has now pushed the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to speed up the remaining repairs, allowing the building to come back into active use and high-profile cases to be heard more locally.
The repairs to the building have been compounded by health and safety concerns, delays in securing planning permission and the building being vandalised during the early stages of the refurbishment work – with the latter resulting in a high perimeter wall being erected.
A Freedom of Information request by ITV News found that the total repair bill was likely to exceed ÂŁ12m once VAT is taken into account.
The cost for the first phase alone – comprising the roof, windows and additional security following the vandalism – was just over £6.9m before VAT, with the ongoing remaining work expected to top £4m before VAT.
Both phases are being funded by the MoJ and HM Courts and Tribunals Service, with no funding being required from Somerset Council or other local authorities.
If repairs continue at the current pace, the building will remain closed until “at least July 2026”, with crown court cases having to be heard at the North Somerset Courthouse in Worle until this date.
Mr Amos said it was “scandalous” that the previous Conservative government had neglected this iconic building, and urged the current Labour administration to complete the “long-overdue” repairs as soon as humanly possible.
He said: “The MoJ needs to get this court back in action for victims of crime, who are instead having to travel all the way across Somerset, often when there’s no public transport, and for the whole local economy of Taunton.
“Shire Hall has been the seat of justice for more than 100 years, and local professionals and their businesses rely on the crown court being here.
“That’s why I raised delays to this project in the House of Commons early this year to try and get things moving.
“Following the exchange, I then secured a meeting with the justice minister Sarah Sackman KC MP, where she committed to the building reopening to provide fully restored crown court operations as soon as the work is completed.
“I’ve now been promised completion 12 months from now and I’m determined to ensure we get the best possible outcome for our county town.
“I will be keeping a careful watch on progress from here on – making sure Taunton can’t be ignored in big Whitehall projects like this is a key priority of my work as MP.”
The MoJ has stated that the repairs would “improve the experience of coming to court for local communities, offering more accessible facilities and improving the resilience of the building for the future”.