LIKE many I feel saddened and angry at the proposed closure of the Sessions House in Knutsford.

Surely having ample law courts to help maintain law and order at a time when the Government is coming under increasing criticism for neglecting this area, is more important than spending huge sums to decorate the Lord Chancellor's apartment, or to fund the Millennium Dome (£800m to date.)

It is criminal that funds can be found for such expenditure and yet cannot be found to finance our court.

The Sessions House has stood for 184 years and provides a valuable service to the community in the fight against crime as well as being a landmark building in the town itself.

Had the building been maintained on an annual rolling basis, it is doubtful that there would now be a requirement to find £5m.

Rumours have abounded about the future of the Sessions House, and until now had always been denied, leaving the community with only the smallest window of opportunity in which to express their opinions.

This, together with the lack of funding, implies deliberate neglect, with the express intention of deeming it unfit and therefore a prime site to be sold and developed.

The Sessions House is a Grade II* listed building and an historic landmark.

Please do all you can to ensure the building remains intact and that the law courts remain where they are needed, within the community they serve.

J WILLIAMS

Knutsford