Cirencester Courthouse to remain open for another year
It was reopened by the Ministry of Justice during the pandemic as a "Nightingale court"
Cirencester's "Nightingale court" will remain open as the Ministry of Justice continues to tackle the lengthy backlog of cases.
It first reopened alongside sports arenas, hotels and conference centres as a temporary measure during the pandemic, allowing juries to socially distance.
The Government is investing ÂŁ477 million over three years to make sure the Crown Court backlog continues to fall. This will allow courts to run at full capacity, support the recruitment of more judges and give stronger sentencing powers to magistrates.
In the last two months of 2022 the backlog fell by almost 800 cases, but in October the number still remained at 62,000.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab says courts like the one in Cirencester have a "vital role to play as our justice system continues to recover from the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and last year's (barrister) strike action."
A total of 24 temporary courtrooms will remain open across the UK in 2023.