THE campaign to save Haddington Sheriff Court from closure is now being fought on three fronts.

The cash-strapped Scottish Court Service (SCS) is consulting the public on the planned closure of 11 sheriff courts, including Haddington Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court.

If approved, the court would terminate during 2014/15 and all business be transferred to Edinburgh, in a move that would save just �81,000 annually and produce a one-off saving of �471,000.

Centuries-old Haddington Sheriff Court's only hope of a reprieve is if hundreds - if not thousands - of residents tell the authorities that it must be saved in the interests of local justice.

The Courier's 'Save our Court' campaign has already seen close to 200 residents send in coupons, which will be sent to the SCS, opposing the move.

"Residents must act now if we are to save this vital institution," said Courier editor Robbie Scott.

Now county MSP Iain Gray is stepping up the fight by launching a postcard campaign.

Several thousand homes in the Haddington area are to receive a postcard, inviting residents to formally object to the plan.

Completed postcards can be dropped off at the Courier offices at 56 Court Street, Haddington, or posted to Mr Gray's office in Tranent. The MSP will then submit them to SCS as part of his response to the consultation.

And for residents who wish to make their submissions online, a new Courier-backed website - www.savehsc.co.uk - has been launched by members of the East Lothian Faculty of Solicitors.

Mr Gray said: "I'm hoping that we can demonstrate the depth of local feeling on this issue by ensuring that plenty of people from East Lothian have their say in the consultation. "The way in which this consultation has been conducted so far suggests to me that the Scottish Court Service and the Scottish Government are trying to keep the consultation as low key as possible, in the hope that people will either be unaware of it taking place or will forget to respond. "The postcard will take only 30 seconds to fill in but could help save a local court system that has served us for 800 years."

The postcard makes clear opposition to the closure plans on the grounds that: It would be detrimental to the local justice system; Closure of the court would disadvantage witnesses and victims of crime, particularly in terms of increased travel times and costs; Travelling to Edinburgh to give evidence would not be the best use of time for local police officers Mr Gray added: "I think the Scottish Courts Service will be hoping for a handful of responses so that they can rubber-stamp these closure plans. But hundreds of responses from East Lothian residents would send a strong message to them and to the SNP Government that we are not willing to let Haddington Sheriff Court close without a fight."

Angela Craig, partner at Haddington solicitors Garden Stirling Burnet, urged residents to view www.savehsc.co.uk She said: "The website has been set up to provide a focal point for the community to engage with this consultation process.

"Losing the court would be tremendously damaging for the 90,000-plus people who live and work in East Lothian. Not just in terms of access to justice, which is a key tenet of the Scottish Legal System, but also across the full range of services that the sheriff court in Haddington provides.

"Moving all the court's business to Edinburgh can only result in greater delays in cases being heard and higher travel costs for all court users and staff.

"People on lower incomes or who live in outlying areas will be particularly badly affected by this proposed change."

All responses will be collated and sent to the Scottish Court Service in time for the end of the consultation period on December 21.

Mac Rigg, a partner at Anderson Strathern who has worked cases at Haddington Sheriff Court for the past 30 years, is Dean of the East Lothian Faculty of Procurators and one of the solicitors supporting of the new website.

As well as the additional transport costs facing both solicitors, JPs and members of the public visiting the Capital for court business, Mr Rigg also pointed out that certain civil services were provided quickly and efficiently at Haddington, such as guardianship applications for residents requiring care - but that may not be the case if business were to relocate to Edinburgh.

For example, the average length of time at present for an application to become an executor of someone's will via Haddington Sheriff Clerk's office is currently a week, while in the Capital applicants can face a wait of as long as six weeks, according to Mr Rigg.

He explained: "Someone who has suffered a loss and is grieving will be anxious to see such matters bring progressed, and at the moment we've got extremely talented staff in Haddington who provide that service quickly and professionally.

"I have doubts that Edinburgh will be capable of providing that same high standard of service."

He added: "It is absolutely critical that members of the public get involved in this proces."

"There has to be a great swell of public opinion opposed to the closure if there is any chance of SCS reversing this proposal. I think that at the moment the public don't fully appreciate how much of an impact the closure of Haddington will have on them.

"There are so many different facets to the service provided at Haddington. Yes, for solicitors there is a very real concern because a move to Edinburgh will mean that the way they do business is going to be uprooted, but the public will also be seriously inconvenienced in a number of ways if this goes ahead."

The official SCS consultation paper is available to view at at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/consultations/index.asp