In the recent Government consultation on the future of Court services, it is proposed to close Hitchin County Court with future Family Law cases being dealt with in Stevenage but the bulk of work of the County Court dealing with possession action, debt, small claims and the like, going to Luton. North East Herts MP Oliver Heald’s concern is that the journey from towns to the east of Stevenage such as Letchworth Garden City, Baldock and Royston, to Luton, is very difficult involving several bus changes and the relevant line does not provide a direct service.
Commenting, Oliver Heald said, “I do not think it is right that constituents from towns to the east of Hertfordshire should be forced to go to Luton for County Court justice. The journey from Royston to Luton by bus takes two hours and requires changes to be made. Many of the journeys from towns closer than Royston take a long time because the railway line does not go to Luton. County Court debt, possession action and other cases often involve vulnerable people with very small resources and I think it would be better for the Courts Service to look to have a combined County Court/Magistrates’ Court in Stevenage, which is more accessible.”
The text of Oliver Heald’s letter to HM Courts Service follows:-
""Having read the consultation document in respect of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Thames Valley, I am concerned at the proposals for Hitchin County Court to close and the work to be transferred in part to Luton. I notice that with the Family Court work it is proposed that this should be transferred to Stevenage, which is a more sensible way forward.
However, moving the rest of the work to Luton will impact on some of the most vulnerable people in North East Hertfordshire and trying to undertake the journey from Royston and surrounding area to Luton is very difficult indeed. There is no railway access from this area to Luton and there are also great difficulties with the bus service, which involves several changes. In order to arrive at Luton County Court for a 10.30 Hearing, it would be necessary to leave Royston at 8.25 – almost two hours earlier. I enclose a copy of the Traveline public transport information which covers this point. I also enclose some other timings which show that at best this is a difficult journey.
I would be particularly concerned at possession actions, small debt cases and the work of the Small Claims Court not being practically available to constituents in a large part of my Constituency. The area to the east of Hitchin includes major towns such as Letchworth Garden City, 33,000 residents, Royston, 17,000 residents, Baldock, 8,000 residents and there are also some very substantial villages such as Ashwell and Weston. I would have thought it would be better develop Stevenage as a combined County Court and Magistrates’ Court centre in very much the same way as you are doing in Hertford. Alternatively, it would be worth looking at whether Royston area work could be accommodated at Cambridge.
I do hope that it will be possible to re-think the plan to send the East of Hitchin’s County Court work from Hitchin to Luton. It is the sort of proposal that looks better on a map than in real life.”