The fate of Dartford Magistrates’ Court will be revealed – whenever the Courts and Tribunals Service “are ready”.

The Highfield Road courthouse, which serves Gravesend and Dartford, was included in a list of 91 court and tribunal buildings under threat from closure pending the outcome of a 12-week consultation, which ended in October.

This week a spokeswoman from the HM courts and tribunals said: “We are still in the process of considering the responses to the consultation. We will publish the result when we are ready, in due course.”

The government department would not confirm if the process would take weeks, months, or even years.

The recommendation was made initially by the Ministry of Justice as part of plans to shut poorly used and expensive-to-run courts across England and Wales.

“We are still in the process of considering the responses to the consultation. We will publish the result when we are ready, in due course.” - HM courts and tribunals

In Dartford, the proposal is to transfer all cases 17 miles away to Medway Magistrates’ Court. The Chatham courthouse has six trial rooms compared to Dartford’s three and is equipped to hold virtual cases via video link. The bigger court already deals with cases from this area.

Figures from HM Courts & Tribunal Service show Dartford Magistrates’ Court was used at 30% capacity last year at a cost of £213,000.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson said this week: “I have made representations to the Justice Minister that the court should remain open. It’s hard enough to get witnesses to attend court as it is, without making them go a further distance. Shutting it will inconvenience them, as well as police and magistrates.

“I know if it was to stay open in its current condition it would need a lot of money spent on the building to bring it up to standard, but we need to find a way of keeping a Dartford court.

“I’m not privy to why there are delays in the decision but I know the Justice Minister is having to review many courts up and down the country.”

Closure would mean no magistrates court service for either Dartford or Gravesend, whose bench closed sixteen years ago.

Jonathan Smithers from The Law Society, the independent professional body for solicitors, raised concerns about the impact of the closure on court users and said it would hit disabled people and those on low incomes the hardest.

It is claimed 85% would have to travel for more than an hour to reach another court due to poor public transport in Kent.

He added: “Combined with the further planned increases in court fees and reductions in eligibility for legal aid, this closure will serve to deepen the inequalities in the justice system between those who can and cannot afford to pay. “No matter who you are, no matter where you live, everyone in England and Wales must be able to access legal advice and the justice system.”