New location for Bradford's Coroner's Court revealed

Bradford Council has recently acquired Cater Buildings, in Cater Street, Little Germany, Bradford, which will be refurbished in order to create the new Coroner's Courts and ancillary offices for the West Yorkshire Western coronial area, covering Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees.

Technical surveys are currently being undertaken, and a design team has now been appointed and is currently developing the detailed layout of the new courts and offices.

The current court is deemed unsuitable for grieving relatives and friends as they share the same entrance as those attending criminal courts, and must endure thorough security checks.

Unlike the current facility in the Magistrate’s Court which only has one court dedicated to the coroner, the new facility will encompass three separate courts able to run concurrently. This will help reduce the number of inquests being backlogged.

HM Senior Coroner, Martin Fleming, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the residents of Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale to have access to dedicated coronial services.

“Those grieving across all communities deserve dignity, respect and for issues to be handled as sensitively and efficiently as possible. By bringing the three courts under one roof, we will have far greater capacity to focus on the needs of the families, who are our priority in all of this. The new facility will not detract from my existing commitment to hold inquests in Huddersfield and Halifax where possible.

“Little Germany is a vibrant area full of heritage and potential and is also easily accessed by good local transport links. I’m very glad that we’ve been able to put down roots here.”