24 May 2025
Building a case
Almost a year on from my last update, there is progress that is visible but also information shared only with HMCTS staff. Both are revealing. As anyone in the Fleet Street area will know, the new buildings are now well out of the ground with 10 storeys of service cores dominating the site. As staff will be aware, more detail of the amenities within the court building have been given along with a firmer timeline for occupation.
The slip-form construction of those cores – one for the police building, two for the courthouse – moves quickly, and is followed by creation of the floors. Overall, the reinforced concrete frame should be completed at the end of the summer. The distinctive exoskeletal steel frame and Vierendeel transfer trusses of the police building are also being installed, and can be seen through the main gate on Salisbury Court, giving an early impression of the architecture here. Floors for this and the commercial block are due to be completed structurally by the end of this year.
That leads neatly to a ‘Leadership message’ shared internally with HMCTS staff in April. The courthouse, it said, will include 32 consultation rooms, including larger spaces for up to 20 people; six “dedicated HMCTS meeting rooms”, a 24-cell custody suite and six witness rooms. Offices for the Crown Prosecution Service and the Probation Service will also be provided, emulating Westminster Magistrates’ Court, along with what are described as 20 judicial offices. The HMCTS staff complement being planned for is 60, and they will “benefit from cycle storage, showers, a drying room, and accessible changing places with a hoist to ensure inclusivity”.
And the overall timeline? Site handover to HMCTS for fit-out (furniture, IT, signage) is now planned for September next year, with the court to be operational in March 2027. This is the most detailed timeline yet, but also by far the longest. Whether this is due to delays or simply a lack of clarity over the last six years isn’t clear. Both are quite common when building a case…
