Bradford's Coroner has appealed to the Department for Constitutional Affairs for better facilities when the city's future coroner's Court is built.

Coroner Roger Whittaker said the current provision in Bradford at the magistrates court is not adequate for the district's needs.

He said Bradford was a busy district and required a larger facility.

"The main problem with the current coroner's court is that there is no provision for a jury to be kept separate while an inquest is ongoing," said Mr Whittaker.

"It is important that the jury is kept separate from any witnesses and other interested parties and that they have somewhere to retire and consider their verdict.

"At the moment we are running a Cinderella service," he said.

Under Will Alsop's city centre masterplan the magistrates court could be demolished to make way for a park.

The Government's Department of Constitutional Affairs is in the early stages of discussions about the relocation of the courts with Bradford Centre Regeneration, the company leading the rebirth of Bradford's city centre.

If plans go ahead, a brand new "star" magistrates court building could be built next to the existing Crown Court.

Mr Whittaker said he had already met a representative of the department to discuss his requirements.

The land where the magistrates court stands is earmarked as parkland in the city centre design guide. The plans are now going through a public consultation.

The ownership of the magistrates court building and land was transferred to the department from the Council under new national requirements last year.

The magistrates court was built in 1972 at a cost of £900,000 and Mr Whittaker said the facilities there were now outdated.

"Advancements in technology mean that our facilities are outdated," said Mr Whittaker.

"At one inquest I had to ask the father of the deceased who had a hearing problem to sit next to me so that he could lip read and follow what was happening in the proceedings."

The land at Exchange Court is owned by the Council. A number of developers have already expressed an interest in it.

Bradford Centre Regeneration has already bought the Tyrls police station close to the court with a view to ultimately taking possession of the site and developing it as a part of the urban park.

A spokesman for the Department of Constitutional Affairs said: "It is planned to replace the existing magistrates court with a new building as part of the regeneration of Bradford.

"There has been no final decision taken on the exact location, although adjacent to the existing Combined Court Centre is an obvious possibility.

If this scheme goes ahead, the existing Coroner's facilities in Bradford would be replaced as part of the same project and in line with current DCA design guide."