Family Solicitors

Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk could become one of the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) new regional divorce centres, after being earmarked as a new divorce centre for London and the southeast.

Local newspaper the Bury Free Press reports that Bury’s Triton House in the town – which currently houses the county court – may be the location for the new divorce centre after undergoing refurbishment.

The Ministry of Justice has proposed that there should be fewer than 20 regional divorce centres across England and Wales to consolidate divorce hearings. There are already three regional divorce centres in northeast England.

The MoJ review into Family Division courts proposes different locations for the divorce courts, in a bid to reduce the amount of time divorcing couples have to wait for their case to be heard.

The MoJ is also calling on divorcing couples to make more use of Legal Aid mediation services, rather than head off to court in contested divorce cases.

Justice Minister Simon Hughes has said that cuts to Legal Aid for family cases may have led to confusion over the publicly-funded services available in divorce cases.

Since Legal Aid has been cut for divorce, more litigants in person have been representing themselves in court, making the process slower in some cases as people who represent themselves may not be aware of the law or legal procedures in court.

The details of the Bury location for a regional divorce centre were revealed under a Freedom of Information request.

The MoJ’s response to the FOI request was that the building in St Andrew’s Street North, Bury, is the most “cost effective” option for the region – and is big enough to provide improved services for divorce hearings, despite the fact that some couples will have to make a lengthy journey to Bury for their hearing.

There are concerns, however, that the Bury St Edmunds County Court may not be able to handle a huge increase in divorce hearings unless more staff are recruited.

There are also local concerns that the Bury St Edmunds County Court is already “overstretched” with cases – and Triton House becoming a regional divorce centre will add pressure on services.

The building is already undergoing refurbishments, however – and it is anticipated that once these are completed, an announcement by the MoJ about the regional divorce centre being sited there will be made.

Duncan Lewis Divorce Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of divorce solicitors and can advise on contested divorces, child contact and residence, maintenance settlements and judicial separation.

Duncan Lewis is also one of the UK’s leading providers of Legal Aid family law advice – and can advise on divorce under UK law and Islamic law, including:

• Child care proceedings
• Court of Protection
• Domestic violence/child abuse
• International child abduction
• International marriage
• Wills & trusts


For expert legal advice on any aspect of divorce and family law, call Duncan Lewis divorce solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

For legal advice on domestic violence, call the Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors Helpline in confidence on 07920 077054.