Hotel that also became de facto magistrates’ court unlikely to hear cases beyond next year
By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Service
A Croydon Hotel partly repurposed as a criminal court has been a great success as an additional seat of justice – but the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) says it won’t be forever.
The Leonardo Hotel in Wellesley Road – opposite the Whitgift Centre – was very aptly known as Jurys Inn before, so it was perhaps destined to become a player in the justice system.
Since March 2021, the hotel has served as one of London’s five Nightingale Courts.
These temporary courts were established during the lockdown to deal with the justice system’s heavy backlog and is still serving that purpose.
At the time of their introduction, the then Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland commented that the introduction of the 20 Nightingale Courts across the country “will help boost capacity across our courts and tribunals, reducing delays and delivering speedier justice for victims”.
For Croydon, this means the hotel now takes on cases from the already overworked criminal and civil courts down the road in Barclay Road and Ayltre Road.
With the exception of custodial criminal cases and complex multi-hander hearings, the hotel court is pretty flexible on the kind of cases heard there.
The hotel unsurprisingly offers less intimidating surroundings than the fortress-like criminal and civil courts, with piped chart music from the hotel foyer speakers.
An usher, who used to work in a nightclub, and is a de facto receptionist on the ground floor, said: “I much prefer working here. We have air-conditioning, and I can actually see the light of day.”
The Ministry of Justice operates primarily on the hotel’s first and second floors, where they have two dedicated courtrooms with full security detail. Hotel residents get a shock when the lift opens on the first floor and they see airport-style scanners.
Members of the public attending hearings are led to an air-conditioned room by a member of security where they watch the proceedings unfold via a video link.
The courtrooms themselves are now housed inside glorified conference rooms, which give ample space for everyone involved in the process.
A court manager said: “We take on a lot of work from other areas of London, including a lot of appeal cases from the City of London and the other London Crown Courts. I think the rate with which we get through stuff is good.
The MOJ has spent £2.9 million on having the court at the Leonardo Hotel since March 2021. However, the MOJ has also insisted that the courts will remain a temporary feature.
In February of this year, the MOJ announced: “These temporary courtrooms, across nine venues, will continue to be used by judges to hear cases ranging from shoplifting to family proceedings and small claims hearings. The majority of the courtrooms will be open until March 2025.”
Pictured top: The Leonardo Hotel in Croydon (Picture: Harrison Galliven)