MP takes up fight for Eastbourne court services

Stephen Lloyd MP met with Justice Minister Lucy Frazier QC and a number of legal representatives from Eastbourne – including Rodney Warren from Warren’s Law, Zoe Summers from Mayo Wynn Baxter and Stuart Grace of Lawson Lewis Blakers.

The town lost its Magistrate’s Court in 2015, a move which was criticised by the Law Society as limiting peoples’ access to justice.

Mr Lloyd organised the meeting after he found the ‘alternative provision’ promised by the Courts Service has not been provided for the town.

He said,“I was disappointed a couple of years ago to read that the government had taken the decision to close Eastbourne Courts.

“Not least as I was well aware from the amount of casework that I’d done before losing the 2015 election, that such a decision would cause tremendous problems for a lot of local residents, often the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our society.

“However, since being re-elected my priority is to move forward as positively as possible so when I was informed by local lawyers that the alternative provision promised by the Courts Service had not in fact materialised, I was determined to put that right.”

He went on, “This week’s joint meeting was very productive, and the minister personally undertook to progress our request. Eastbourne’s growing size deserves nothing less.

“Local people can and should be better served with adequate alternative provision and once implemented, it will mean fewer people having to travel to the Courts in either Hastings or Brighton.

“I will though continue to keep a close watch on the government to ensure that this time they really do deliver on what was originally agreed.”

Rodney Warren added, “Stephen’s raising of this issue in the Commons has, we hope, broken the log jam.

“We look forward to working with the Ministry to ensure that the people of Eastbourne can get some access to justice locally”.