Rhyl Peoples Assembly and Denbighshire Trades Council opposes the proposed closure of Prestatyn Magistrates court. The Ministry of Justice is looking complete the closure during June, meaning both defendants and witnesses will have to travel to Llandudno Magistrates. We oppose the closure on the following grounds:

1. Increased travel time and expense to attend court – Rhyl has some of the most deprived areas in Wales in both West & South West Rhyl and car ownership in these areas is low. People attending court without their own transport, either as a witness or a defendant, will have to fork out more money to get to Llandudno either by bus or Train. The cheaper of these two options, the bus, takes 1 hr 15mins. People living in more rural or inland towns of Denbighshire such as Denbigh could see travel time of well over 2 hours.
2. Local Justice - An important part of our judicial system is that people are tried by their peers. E.G. people from Welsh speaking rural communities, like south Denbighshire, should appear before Justices with a similar background
3. People involved in criminal court cases travelling together - The people travelling from rural Denbighshire and West Rhyl are likely to be the accused and their witnesses along with the victim and their witnesses. They will all have to travel together on the same bus for well over an hour.
4. Job Losses – There will obviously be job losses for those working within the court

 Justice should be available to all regardless of where you live or how much money you have or whether you have a car or not. There is no justification for losing our local court and more local jobs in the name of austerity and saving money. Sign this petition and fight this closure