Dartford Magistrates' Court has been axed in moves to "modernise" the justice system, the government has announced.

Meanwhile, two justice buildings will be lost in the Greenwich borough - where both Greenwich Magistrates' Court and Woolwich County Court are to close.

They were three of 91 buildings, 57 magistrates and 19 county courts, at threat of closure by the HM Courts and Tribunal Service.

A 12-week consultation period ended in October, and yesterday (February 11) it was announced that 86 of these will be closed.

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According to the HM Courts and Tribunal Service, the 86 courts they are closing are used for just over a third of their available hearing time, the equivalent of less than two days a week.

In Dartford, the proposal was to transfer all cases 17 miles away to Medway Magistrates' Court - but 97 per cent of residents nationwide should still be able to reach their court within an hour by car.

The workloads and hearings of Greenwich and Woolwich will be moved to Bromley County Court.

MP for Erith and Thamesmead Teresa Pearce said slammed the decision.

She said: "The decision to close these courts will be a disaster for local people accessing justice.

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"The government has already slashed legal aid and increased court fees. Many are representing themselves because they cannot afford a lawyer.

"And now victims and witnesses will have to travel much further than before, further threatening their right to local access to justice.

"Many of the cases looked into at these courts are for family matters or less serious offences.

"The Ministry of Justice say it will only take 20 minutes from Greenwich to Bromley – well that’s just not my experience.

"It will take longer for police to transport prisoners and longer for witnesses or victims to travel to court at greater personal expense.

"I urge the government to reconsider these proposals. You cannot put a price on fair access to justice for all."

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson was also disappointed by the announcement. He said: "This news comes as a disappointment as it will mean longer journeys for those attending court. 

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"Anybody who has been in that building will know it is very dilapidated and would need a lot of investment to bring it up to modern standards.

"I suspect therefore that the Ministry of Justice felt that cost was a big factor in this decision. 

"Whilst I would have preferred they kept the court open, I recognise the government has to protect the taxpayer."

Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said: "Court closures are difficult decisions - local communities have strong allegiances to their local courts and I understand their concerns.

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"But changes to the estate are vital if we are to modernise a system which everybody accepts is unwieldy, inefficient, slow, expensive to maintain and unduly bureaucratic.

"For each proposal in the consultation, we have considered access to justice, value for money, and efficiency."

He added: "Our courts and tribunal system is in need of urgent reform. Maintaining our underused and dilapidated court buildings costs the taxpayer £500m-a-year.

"This is simply unsustainable. Closing these courts in poor quality buildings will raise £40m to re-invest in the justice system, and save hard-working taxpayers £27m per year."

Greenwich Magistrates Court will likely close between January and March 2017 and Woolwich County Court will likely close between April and June 2017.