THE opening yesterday of the new #47m Edinburgh Sheriff Courthouse
brought all of its work back together again under one roof after many
years when its courtrooms and offices were dispersed.
Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson, QC, declaring the court in
Chambers Street open for business at a ceremony involving a full bench
of sheriffs, said it was a happy day.
The new building, occupying the former site of Heriot-Watt University,
replaced the courthouse in the Lawnmarket which was opened in 1937.
At that time, there were four courtrooms presided over by three
full-time sheriffs.
Because of the volume of business, an additional courtroom had to be
constructed from office space in the Lawnmarket courthouse in the 1960s
and even more offices there were converted into a sixth courtroom in
1980.
In addition, further courtrooms were created in a succession of leased
buildings around the city.
For the past two years, Edinburgh Sheriff Court had consisted of 15
courtrooms spread over five different locations.
Since 1976, the procurator-fiscal and his staff have been located a
considerable distance from any of the courts, in offices in Queensferry
Street.
Mr Robert Lees, the regional procurator-fiscal, said he was confident
the public would return only one verdict on the new building. The real
winners were the public and the justice system.
Work on the new courthouse began in 1989 and has been completed two
months ahead of schedule.
During construction, a security guard, Mr George Campbell, 57, died in
a fire when he was trapped in a lift last November.
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