THE true impact of the closure of Haddington Sheriff and JP courts could be revealed in a proposed report.

The court shut for good at the end of January, with business moved along the A1 to Edinburgh, despite vociferous campaigning for the building to remain open.

One of those heavily involved in the campaign to save the court was county MSP Iain Gray, who has written to Caroline Gardner, auditor general for Scotland, calling on her to investigate the impact of the closure of the court.

The letter, dated Monday, reads: “The closure was opposed by the local community, East Lothian Council and myself, for a whole host of reasons both social and historical.

“However, some of the most powerful arguments were made by the local faculty of procurators, who argued that Edinburgh Court would not be able to deliver justice efficiently following a transfer of all Haddington business to it.

“Secondly, the faculty employed a forensic accountant to consider the business case for closure.

“His conclusion was that there would be no saving to the public purse, since at best additional costs would be created for other public bodies to save a limited sum for the Scottish Court Service and at worst the closure would create net additional costs for the public purse.

“I am therefore writing to you to ask that you consider auditing the impact of the closure after, say, one year, to ascertain if there has in fact been any saving and what the impact has been on the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system in Edinburgh and East Lothian.” The letter comes just days after a letter from the Justice Secretary in which he turned down a proposal from East Lothian Faculty of Procurators to open a summary sheriff court in Haddington.

In the letter, Michael Matheson said: “My understanding is that the Lord President and the SCS gave very considerable thought to the closure of the sheriff court in Haddington.

“My predecessor, Kenny MacAskill, acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, concurred with the decision.

“The Lord President and the SCS do not consider that the circumstances which led to that decision have changed.” Angela Craig, chairwoman of the local faculty of procurators, said she was now “effectively” working out of Edinburgh for at least four days each week and was taking a step back from campaigning for the re-opening of the court.

She said: “In practical terms it means I simply do not have the time needed to continue to be involved with and lead a campaign to reinstate court services for the county of East Lothian.

“I have had to make a hard choice between serving the needs of clients requiring representation in court and putting time and resources into continuing our campaign to have justice available locally for the people of East Lothian.

“Another factor in my considerations is that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Court Service have not brought forward sufficient detailed information on what their plans to recruit summary sheriffs will mean in practice.

“The latest I have is that ‘The recruitment of the first tranche of new summary sheriffs will commence in mid 2015’.

“Given the effects of local court closures are being felt right across Scotland and this new tier of the judiciary offers hope for many in rural areas wanting local courts to stay open, the apparent lack of clarity over the Scottish Court Service plans is disappointing to say the least.” Mr Gray backed the solicitor and described the initial decision to shut the court as “ridiculous”.

He added: “To add insult to injury, the Justice Secretary has once again dismissed out of hand the proposal to replace the court with one of the planned summary sheriff courts.

“This eminently sensible idea, coming from the county’s faculty of procurators, who know what they are talking about, has been treated in the most dismissive and high-handed manner.”