One of London’s crown courts has been forced to close after a heating failure caused temperatures to plummet.
All 12 courtrooms at Woolwich crown court have been shuttered while technicians try to fix the problem, with six trials and 26 other hearings having to be adjourned.
It is understood faults with the building’s boiler system have left the southeast London courthouse without hot water or heating, and it has been deemed an unsafe work environment.
A note online simply states: “Court closed to members of the public today”, with no indication when the building may reopen.
Cases involving burglary, fraud, blackmail, and serious violence – including against police officers – are among those affected by the closure.
It comes as courts in England and Wales battle a 60,000-strong backlog and the effects of an ongoing strike by criminal barristers.
A ballot of Criminal Bar Association members opens today after the Ministry of Justice offered fresh deal on Legal Aid fees.
Barristers voted for an all-out strike in August, and will now consider a return to work after the Ministry of Justice agreed to apply a 15 per cent fee increase to existing cases in the criminal justice system.
The closure of Woolwich crown court includes seven courtrooms in the main building and five in the temporary extension.
The extension was originally built in 2011 as a modular building only fit for ten years. But HM Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) successfully convinced Greenwich Council that the add-on should be kept indefinitely due to pressures on the court in dealing with the backlog.
In its application for planning permission, HMCTS said the extension would be particularly helpful during a replacement of the main building’s air conditioning system, which would take courtrooms out of action for a “significant period of time”.
