Old Street Magistrate’s Court and police station – community advice project

Report: 05
Date: 9 January 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

Attached to this report is a briefing from the Community Advice Project (CAP) on their proposals for the above premises, should their bid to purchase them from the MPA and the Greater London Magistrates Courts Authority (GLMCA) be successful.

A. Recommendation

That the Board receives a presentation from the Community Advice Project and passes any observations it wishes to make on this initiative to the Finance Committee.

B. Supporting information

1. Members will be aware of proposals put forward by CAP to purchase these premises for a Community Courthouse Initiative. The freehold of the premises is owned by the MPA and the leasehold of the magistrates court by the GLMCA.

2. The MPA has shown a willingness to consider selling the premises to CAP on a single bidder basis at a market value determined by the District Valuer. In doing so it must ensure that it properly discharges its fiduciary duty. The Finance Committee is due to consider the bid received from CAP at its meeting on 16 January. The GLMCA’s approval will also be required to any course of action. Any disposal is subject to the criteria set out in Government guidance on the disposal of historic buildings.

3. The Finance Committee has executive responsibility for financial and estates matters. The decision on whether to sell the MPA’s interest in these premises therefore falls to that committee. However, CAP have asked to make a presentation to the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board on their proposals in terms of the content of the project and what it aims to achieve. The Board may then wish to pass any observations it wishes to make to the Finance Committee. The Chair has agreed to receive this presentation.

4. Attached as Appendix 1 is a briefing and factsheet prepared by CAP.

C. Equality and diversity implications

These are brought out in the attached factsheet. Equalities considerations underpin the aims of this initiative.

D. Financial implications

The financial issues will be for the Finance Committee to consider.

E. Background papers

None.

F. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, MPA.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Briefing & factsheet - Community Courthouse Initiative

“It is an imaginative and constructive use of a historical building, which has processed its fair share of notorious cases in the past. It will provide a positive point of learning between disadvantaged communities and the criminal justice agencies”

His Honour Judge Roger Sanders
Former Stipendiary Magistrate at Old Street Magistrates’ Court, writing in support of the Community Courthouse Initiative

1. What is the Community Courthouse Initiative?

The Community Courthouse Initiative is the flagship scheme of the Community Advice Project (CAP) and the Society of Black Lawyers of England & Wales (SBL). It is a law-related initiative that seeks to develop and deliver a range of law-related services that will empower and assist socially excluded and disadvantaged minority communities in dealing with the root causes of their exclusion and disadvantage.

One of the main objectives of the initiative is the adoption of a multi-disciplinary approach to altering the culture and negative perceptions held by many ethnic minority communities in relation to the agencies that make up the criminal justice system, the legal system and the police in particular by:

1. Increasing public knowledge and understanding about the courts and the legal system, and
2. Providing opportunities for positive interaction between criminal justice agencies and ethnic minority communities.

Once established, the Community Courthouse Initiative will have the following aims and priorities:

1. Reducing youth crime through youth justice education programmes and restorative justice initiatives;
2. Providing opportunities for positive interaction between criminal justice agencies and socially excluded/ disadvantaged communities;
3. Establishing programmes to facilitate the recruitment and retention of more people from ethnic minority communities into the Metropolitan and City of London Police Services as well as other areas of the law and the justice system;
4. Changing the culture and negative perception among minority communities of the law and the justice system; and
5. Using the law and lawyering as a tool for empowering inner city communities through economic regeneration, community development and social inclusion.

The Community Advice Project is the registered charitable arm of the Society of Black Lawyers of England & Wales.

The Community Courthouse Initiative will be based in the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station.

2. Why Old Street Magistrates’ Court?

One of the key projects to be housed in the Community Courthouse will be “Youth 4 Justice” - a law, youth and citizenship programme that teaches young people about the legal system, their rights and responsibilities. Youth 4 Justice is being funded by the Youth Justice Board of England & Wales and is currently being piloted in the London Borough of Hackney in partnership with Hackney’s Youth Offending Team. Old Street Magistrates’ Court is located within the borough of Hackney and therefore basing the Community Courthouse within this decommissioned grade II listed building (described as “one of the finest Edwardian civic buildings in London.”), will create a focal point in an area of considerable deprivation and need. The Community Courthouse will engage the existing skills, talents and resources of the whole community and enhance these by developing and introducing new skills, talents and resources. The location of the Initiative will also mean that the neighbouring boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Islington and Walthamstow will also have access to and ultimately be a beneficiary of the innovative projects that will be housed in the Courthouse.

3. Why is this scheme so important?

Declining public trust and confidence in the justice system is one of the most significant issues facing the justice system today. The Community Courthouse Initiative represents a significant and sustainable diversity initiative that, through its projects and services will act as an interface between socially excluded communities and the wider legal system. The Courthouse will essentially ‘reach out’ to communities, creating and enhancing court and community collaboration activities and acting as a resource for building productive, sustainable and innovative relationships to effectively address community problems through justice initiatives and public legal education (“Legal Literacy”). By adopting a multi-disciplinary and partnership approach, the Community Courthouse will actively address the issues of citizenship, civil engagement and participation, youth crime, the under representation of ethnic minorities in the justice/legal system, employment, volunteering and economic regeneration. If successful, the creation of a permanent ‘space’ to enable communities to positively engage with the justice system by playing an active role in the search for solutions to community problems, will offer the potential to be replicated nationally.

4. What projects & services will the community courthouse offer?

Projects, programmes and services to be offered in the Community Courthouse include:

1.  Youth 4 justice: Law, Youth & Citizenship Programme (a youth justice education programme, which focuses on youth crime prevention)
2. Volunteer Internship Programme (a volunteering programme, which focuses on skills development and civil society)
3. Service to Seniors: Elderly Legal Assistance Programme (an outreach legal assistance programme, which works in partnership with sheltered housing schemes, day centres and luncheon clubs)
4. Business law clinic (an economic development initiative to support SMEs in disadvantaged areas)
5. HEAL: Health Law Advocacy Programme (a legal assistance and advocacy service that focuses on health law and practice)
6. Legal resource centre (a legal resource library and centre using ICT as a means of enabling lay persons to conduct their own legal research to find solutions to their problems)
7. Street law: Legal Literacy Project (an initiative designed to empower neighbourhoods and individuals through the running of “community law seminars”)

5. What progress has been made so far?

Significant progress has been made since the development of the Community Courthouse concept in January 1999:

1. A Courthouse Steering Committee, made up of representatives from the Metropolitan Police Service, College of Law, Society of Black Lawyers, City of London Police and the Community Advice Project was been successful in securing £200,000 development funding under the Single Regeneration Budget (Round 6) Programme in 1999. This funding was used to develop a business plan, architectural feasibility study and a baseline research study to support the development of the Community Courthouse.
2. In July 2001, the Metropolitan Police Authority (the owners of the freehold to the Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station) gave an in principle commitment to sell the courthouse to the Community Advice Project (CAP), subject to CAP being able to raise the funding necessary to meet the open market value of the property established by the District Valuer. In September 2001, the District Valuer certified the value and purchase price of the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station at £4.5 million.
3. The Community Advice Project has now successfully raised the £4.5 million necessary to acquire the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court and Police Station site by bringing on board a property development partner, Nicholson Estates Plc.
4. The Community Advice Project has appointed Renaisi as it’s regeneration agent.

6. What are the additional benefits of such a scheme?

Old Street Magistrates’ Court is currently on the English Heritage ‘At Risk’ register. It is an important building in its own right and is part of London’s legal history and heritage. The Community Courthouse Initiative provides a unique opportunity to bring this former courthouse and listed building back into use for the greater benefit of the community. Re-using neglected buildings can help to revitalise entire areas by:

• Attracting public and private investment
• Creating jobs, homes, workspaces and tourist facilities
• Improving the environment and quality of life for the whole community
• Beginning the process of renewal which is then carried forward by others
• Acting as a vehicle for engaging hard-to-reach communities

The Community Courthouse model therefore represents a significant community asset, which has the potential to be replicated in other parts of London and throughout the country.

7. Who else is supporting this scheme?

Letters of support and endorsement have already been received from the following organisations and individuals:

• Commissioner Sir John Stevens QPM
• London Criminal Justice Strategy Committee
• London Borough of Hackney Youth Offending Team
• London Race Issues Group
• Victim Support
• City of London Police
• Youth Justice Board of England & Wales
• Sir David Calvert-Smith QC, Director of Public Prosecutions
• Rt. Hon. Lord Peter Goldsmith QC, Attorney General
• Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP, Solicitor General
• His Honour Judge Roger Sanders, Resident Judge, Harrow Crown Court
• Leroy Logan, Chair, Metropolitan Black Police Association
• Reeva Bell, Chair, National Black Crown Prosecution Association
• Courtney Griffiths QC, Chairman, Bar Council Race Relations Committee
• David Bean QC, Chairman, General Council of the Bar of England & Wales
• Kamlesh Bahl, Law Society Council Member for Ethnic Minorities
• National Race Issues Committee (NACRO)
• Dr. Richard Stone, Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Panel Member

Briefing Date: December 2002

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