Edward Cooke welcomes the news that Chichester Crown Court will remain open permanently

27 January 2026

Chichester Crown Court will remain open permanently following an announcement by the Ministry of Justice. As the only crown court in West Sussex, this is of vital important for access to justice for those in and around Chichester. 

Edward Cooke, who, along with others, has campaigned for a decade for this provision to stay open commented: 

“I’m absolutely delighted – really thrilled. It's been going on a long time. The government announced the closure back in 2016 and we took on the battle then. It was a really hard battle to fight, to be honest. It didn't look there'd be any prospect of keeping the crown court back in 2016. So to get to this point 10 years on where, full-time court provision has been retained at Chichester is absolutely incredible. It's fantastic news."