A PLAN to close West Cumbria’s only court is “unjustifiable” as it is “based on half-baked assumptions”, Copeland’s MP has claimed.

Jamie Reed has condemned government proposals to shut West Cumbria Magistrates and County Court in Workington. The closure would mean people having to travel to either Carlisle or Barrow for criminal and civil cases.

Workington MP Sue Hayman is so concerned about the proposals, she has launched an online petition to save the courts.

Mr Reed told The Whitehaven News this week: “The Government’s planned closure is completely unjustifiable. It cannot be right to expect people to travel for hours to access justice in our community.”

The MP raised concerns about impact assessments in the government’s own consultation document, which states that the distance between West Cumbria Magistrates and Carlisle and District Magistrates Court is 32 miles – more than 2.3 times the average distance between other courts in the North West.

Mr Reed said: “Even by the government’s estimates, more than half of people will have to travel up to two hours to get to their nearest court when currently no-one has to travel more than an hour. Making it harder for people to get to their nearest court threatens people’s access to justice; this is unacceptable.

“The government’s impact assessment is based on half-baked assumptions and doesn’t take into account the number of people in Copeland travelling to Workington to access the court and the additional time it will take these people to get to Carlisle or Barrow. This is before traffic delays are taken into account. “

He said the proposals are “a further demonstration that the government has no understanding of the unique transport challenges facing our community”.

Mr Reed is calling on the government to “go back to the drawing board” and says he will be writing to the Secretary of State for Justice to insist he scraps the planned closure.

Members of Whitehaven Town Council have also expressed their concern about the proposals.

At a meeting held last week, councillor John Kane and vice-chairman Raymond Gill described the closure plans as “a disgrace”.

Councillor Brian O’Kane said the consultation document is based on the current population but it is not looking to the future numbers of people who will be living and working in the area.

Members agreed to formally object to the plans by letter.

To sign the online petition, go to: www.change.org/p/ministry-of-justice-save-west-cumbria-magistrates-court