New Coroner's Court needed so families can be treated with 'dignity they deserve'

At a meeting of the Council's Executive on Tuesday, members approved further funding to re-locate the city's Coroner's Court to a building in Little Germany.

The court is currently based in a a corner of Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court in City Park, in facilities Coroner Martin Fleming has long described as wholly inadequate for the grieving families that attend the court.

Earlier this year it was announced that the service will be moving from the court to a building on Cater Street. A planning application recently submitted by the Council revealed plans for a much more modern court, which includes family rooms, a faith room, larger waiting rooms, better jury facilities and multiple court rooms - which will allow several inquests to be held at the same time.

In 2016 Mr Fleming told the Telegraph & Argus of the need for an improved court set up.

The existing coroner's court requires grieving families to be searched by security guards before passing through a waiting area containing people accused of criminal acts awaiting their court appearance.

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They then have to wait in a cramped waiting room, often just yards from people who may have played a role in the death of their loved one.

And at the Executive meeting Councillor Imran Khan, deputy leader of the Council, said the physical location of the building, yards from City Park and its mirror pool, was not ideal. He said: "Can you imagine a grieving family who may have lost a young child coming to the inquest to hear children playing in the mirror pool outside? It can have a big impact on them.

"This move is long overdue and desperately needed."

In 2018 Bradford Council agreed to spend £2.35 million on the Little Germany building - then the Digital Health Enterprize Zone used by the University of Bradford.

The building will be divided, with the Cater Street section becoming the Coroner's Court and the Peckover Street side retained as units that are let out to other organisations.

At Tuesday's online Executive meeting members were asked to release extra funding for matters including IT systems, interactive installations, security, professional fees and signage. The amount of funding was not publicly declared.

If plans are approved, work will start in March and the court, which will also be used for Calderdale and Kirklees cases, will officially move in December 2021.

Mr Fleming told the Executive: "These plans place more importance on the families we serve and who should be our absolute priority. It will future proof the service for years to come. The existing facilities are inadequate and fall below the basic standards commensurate with a compassionate service. They deserve better."

He said it was important that work progressed as soon as possible due to the Covid 19 pandemic and the likelihood of an increase in the workload of coroners. He said: "Facilities need to be adequate to deal with the fallout of this crisis as soon as possible.

"I realise this request for funding comes at a difficult time and I know as a Council you have many, many difficult decisions to make. But this one off funding affords us a one off opportunity to improve the service for many years to come and allow us to treat families with the dignity they deserve."

Members approved the additional funding.