Medway County Court to be expanded

Medway County Court will be expanded to include two new court rooms, Justice Minister Bridget Prentice said on Wednesday.

The County Court, which is situated in Chatham High Street and deals with civil and family cases, currently has five court rooms. Mrs Prentice’s proposals would see that number rise to seven.

‘It’s going to make life a lot easier for people in Medway,’ Mrs Prentice said. ‘Being able to come to a single court and to have their case dealt with in a single place.

‘Going to court is a very daunting experience wherever you are and I think families in Medway will benefit greatly as a result.’

Once the court rooms have been built, there will be more space at the Medway Magistrates Court, which will also be beneficial, according to Mrs Prentice.

‘If we can put all the family proceedings in one place,’ she added, ‘then we can deal with all the criminal proceedings more efficiently.

Mrs Prentice also spoke about the regeneration of the Thames Gateway and the Medway area.

‘The Thames Gateway is going to bring more people and more jobs – and with it the need for more court experience.’

Photograph: adaptation of a photograph taken by Clem Rutter, and licensed and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.