HM Courts Service has narrowed to two its search for a new 100,000 sq ft magistrates’ court in
Nine developers initially put forward proposals, but only a consortium led by Japanese PFI specialist Kaijima and
Kajima is proposing to build the court at a site at West Moorfields, while FT Patten is offering land adjacent to the
HMCS had hoped to shortlist five developers for the project, but sources claimed that several parties dropped out of the running as they were reluctant to commit to the final stage.
One said: “The process required detailed designs and a fully worked-up scheme just to reach the final three. There were questions over whether costs totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds could be justified for a one-in-three chance of securing the requirement.”
HMCS will take a 30-year lease on the new building, freeing its current court facilities at
Drivers Jonas and DTZ are advising.
