Blackfriars Crown Court: council seeks affordable housing

The Ministry of Justice held a consultation earlier this year on plans to shut Blackfriars Crown Court and dispose of its "high value" site.

In its response to the consultation, Southwark Council said that it would "strongly welcome opportunities to explore how the building could be made available for future affordable housing".

In 2007 the court site was valued at £32 million on the Government's National Asset Register.

Knightsbridge Crown Court moved to the Pocock Street site in 1993 and later adopted the name Blackfriars Crown Court to reflect its new location.

The court occupies the former site of St Stephen's Parliamentary Press.

The printworks once employed more than 500 people producing copies of Hansard, Acts of Parliament and other official documents. The Parliamentary Press later relocated to Mandela Way.

The Ministry of Justice has not yet published its report on the public consultation.