SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Justice Minister Mark Golding isn’t giving timelines.

However, he says that as soon as money is available a modern courthouse complex will be built in St Elizabeth’s capital Black River on lands which were identified years ago.

“We can’t do everything at once, but Black River is in the programme, and as soon as we can allocate funds for that capital project we will move with it,” he told Jamaica Observer Central during a recent visit to Treasure Beach, south west St Elizabeth.

A shortage of courtroom space in St Elizabeth’s main towns Black River and Santa Cruz has been a major problem for many years. During Golding’s recent visit, Treasure Beach hotelier and head of the St Elizabeth Parish Development Committee (PDC) Jason Henzell added his voice to those calling for “a proper courthouse” in this southern parish.

All agree that the historic 19th century court building in Black River, a prized heritage site, is not suited to the modern demands of the justice system. Two years ago, a section of the roof collapsed, forcing what Golding said was “millions of dollars” in repairs.

However, as the justice minister told Observer Central, the repairs were not far-reaching because of the building’s status as a heritage site and the resulting need for builders to tread very carefully.

In Santa Cruz, the cramped, old court facility which sits atop the police station had to be shut down by the authorities in January because of disrepair and unhealthy conditions, including a pigeon infestation.

Even before the health authorities acted, judges and lawyers in Santa Cruz had taken control of a well-appointed structure, built specifically for the Petty Sessions court to the rear of the old police station and justice building.

Back in 2007 when that $11-million building was formally opened by then Justice Minister AJ Nicholson, it was hailed as representing a new day for lay magistrates who preside at the petty sessions. Now the lay magistrates find themselves again relegated.

Ironically, one of Jamaica’s more modern and spacious court facilities is located in Balaclava in remote north east St Elizabeth. When the Balaclava project was first mooted many years ago to replace an old wooden structure, the town was a centre of activity because of the passenger railway service for which it was a vital cog.

However, when Jamaica’s passenger rail service collapsed in the 1990s Balaclava — close to St Elizabeth’s border with South Trelawny and north west Manchester — rapidly became a sleepy backwater. This, even while Santa Cruz, at the epicentre of St Elizabeth, and other towns such as Junction further south have continued to grow.

Golding, who opened the modern courthouse in Balaclava in 2012 shortly after the People’s National Party (PNP) Government took office, argues that St Elizabeth should maximise use of the Balaclava facility despite its distance from the parish’s major population centres.

“It’s a facility which needs to be used more,” he told Observer Central. “And now [that the old Santa Cruz courthouse is closed] it presents an opportunity because … it’s an excellent facility,” the minister said. Golding said budget constraints meant the Government had to rigidly prioritise in terms of modernising court facilities though it was recognised that the needs were great and widespread.

The minister said that in the upcoming budget year, concentration would be on “further work” on Justice Square in downtown Kingston and “hopefully to begin the construction of a Traffic Court and Coroner’s Court” at Hagley Park Road, St Andrew.