RYEDALE councillors and the district's senior coroner and a magistrate slammed controversial plans to close Pickering Magistrates Court claiming it would cause hardship for many people with long journeys, and fewer people willing to become magistrates.

North Yorkshire Magistrates' Courts Committee (MCC), which held a public meeting at the Pickering court house this week, was told that the closure of the court - due to take place next December following a major review of court buildings - would save only £12,000 a year on a budget for all the county's courts of £3.5m.

North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley sent a statement to the meeting claiming the court closure would be "the final nail in the coffin of providing local justice to the people".

He added: "I really wonder whether the authors of this review are living in the real world when they make such remarks that 'the transport links between the main towns in the area are reasonably good'."

Mr Oakley in his hard-hitting statement to the MCC said: "The public transport in Ryedale is abysmal and those who have prepared the consultation paper should know that, otherwise they should not have even been sitting on the relevant committee."

He said he took "the gravest possible exception" to the suggestion that both Pickering and Whitby courts should close and that the only magistrates court in the area should be at Scarborough.

"These recommendations are driven entirely by economists and not by the provision of a local service to the community."

He believed that Pickering court should be retained, dedicated to inquests, adding that funding should be obtained through the local authority, the Home Office and the Lord Chancellors' department.

Coun Gary Hobbs, Kirkbymoorside's member on Ryedale District Council, said all councillors were "appalled" at the threat of losing the Pickering court. Defendants and witnesses would face journeys from as far as Bilsdale to Scarborough to attend hearings of the court before predominantly Scarborough magistrates.

"It is a desperately bad step," he told the meeting.

County Coun Betsy Hill, the mayor of Pickering, said the move was historically "very bad" because services were becoming increasingly remote. She believed that eventually the situation would reverse and many services would again become locally based.

Coun Keith Orrell said the closure went against the trend of sustainable development because everyone would have to make much longer journeys to court while fellow Ryedale councillor Chris Parkin said: "Unless transportation is improved, people will just not be able to get to courts for 10.30am when they start sittings."

Magistrate Lt Col Tony Hemesley of Old Malton said: "Local people will become less and less willing to become magistrates, certainly those in the 45-55 age group. We shall find cases are being heard by people with no local knowledge."

He urged the public to write to their MP John Greenway to oppose the closure.

Paul Bradley, the chief executive of the county magistrates courts service, said it was planned to have just five courts in North Yorkshire - York, Scarborough, Skipton, Harrogate and Northallerton. Along with Pickering, courts at Richmond and Whitby would also close, with the eventual closure of Selby when a new court house is built at York. The current York courts needed £750,000 of renovations to modernise the facilities.

Mr Bradley said a 3pc efficiency cut in costs was needed and a review of court houses in North Yorkshire had shown they were working at just under 50pc capacity.

The MCC chairman, John Bostock, said it faced a cut of between £100,000 and £200,000 in its budget for the next financial year. "Our biggest cost is in staff, followed by buildings," he said, adding that the committee would have to seek funding from the Lord Chancellor's hardship fund to meet its budget.

He warned that without a review of its buildings, the committee would not receive money for capital works on its court houses.

"Our stock is relatively inadequate and we need to provide a long-term strategy."

Inspector Tim Hutchinson said the county police supported the closures because they were in line with the police and Crown Prosecution Service changes. The building of a 21-cell complex at the redeveloped Scarborough police headquarters would free up police supervision in the Ryedale area he said.

Updated: 12:58 Thursday, December 20, 2001