Sheffield Magistrates' Court building to remain closed all week as emergency work to fix leaks continues

The Sheffield Magistrates' Court building will remain closed until at least the end of this week, as emergency work to fix leaks there continues.
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The court building on Castle Street was originally forced to shut on Monday, March 14, due to what was described as ‘several leaks and health and safety issues’.

The Ministry of Justice said at the time that it would remain closed until at least Wednesday, March 16, as work to fix the problems was carried out.

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It remains closed today, Thursday, March 17, and a spokeswoman for the MoJ said it would now not reopen until Monday, March 21 at the earliest.

Sheffield Magistrates' Court will not reopen until at least Monday, March 21, as emergency work to fix leaks and 'health and safety' issues continuesSheffield Magistrates' Court will not reopen until at least Monday, March 21, as emergency work to fix leaks and 'health and safety' issues continues
Sheffield Magistrates' Court will not reopen until at least Monday, March 21, as emergency work to fix leaks and 'health and safety' issues continues
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Cases are still being sent to Sheffield Combined Courts Centre, which houses Sheffield Crown Court, and to Barnsley and Doncaster magistrates’ courts, with the MoJ saying all cases listed for Sheffield Magistrates’ Court were currently ‘being allocated elsewhere’.

The MoJ said: “They are currently urgently working to fix the problem. The building won't reopen this week but they are hoping it can reopen on Monday.

"At the moment, they’re allocating all cases out to other courts.”

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A source has told The Star there is ‘flooding’ in the building but the MoJ has denied this and also said that the roof remained ‘intact and safe’.

Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh this week said it was ‘absurd’ the building was forced to close due to ‘disrepair’ and accused the Government of failing to invest adequately in the justice system.

The MoJ said an additional £105 million had been provided for building improvement during 2020/21, taking the capital spend that year to more than £150m – the biggest investment in two decades.