No justice in this court case

In the grand scheme of things it may not mean much to the majority of the Sunderland public.

That a brand spanking new Centre for Justice will now not go ahead could be met with a shrug of the shoulders by many.

The majority of the public would, naturally, hope never to be spending any time within the court system. So why should they care?

In truth, this feels like yet another below the belt blow delivered to the city by this government.

At more than a century old, it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that Sunderland Magistrates’ Court is unlikely to be fit for purpose.

The closure of Houghton Magistrates’ Court in 2011 only exacerbated the need for a more state-of-the-art facility.

Plans were drawn, land purchased and all that was needed was a nod of the head from our Government.

The nod came, but for those who have worked hard to see a new build, that nod was a headbutt!

Instead of a new Sunderland Centre for Justice, we’re back to square one. Or more precisely, we’ve taken a step backwards.

Eight years have been wasted along with the £2million buying land to build a complex that will remain on the drawing board.

There is, of course, the promise of a £825,000 reinvestment in this grand old building. That’s all very well, but the scepticism shown by our two Labour MPs is understandable.

As predictable as this snub has been, we shouldn’t shrug our shoulders.

At the very least we need to see the reinvestment and plan of action instantly delivered.

Without it, justice is not served.