People arrested in Craven on weekends will be taken to York in future.

Currently, anyone arrested and charged on a Friday will appear at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court the next day.

But later this year, weekend and bank holiday court appearances will be centralised to York Magistrates’ Court.

It comes after Skipton Law Courts narrowly escaped closure last year and an announcement earlier this year that magistrates’ court staff were to be centralised in Harrogate.

Her Majesty’s Court Service said this week that the changes followed a three-month consultation last August.

The spokesman said court use at Harrogate, Scarborough and Northallerton had been considered too low to justify keeping all three open.

But solicitor Keith Blackwell, who regularly defends at Skipton, said he had been unaware of any proposed changes, along with many of his colleagues.

“The restructuring is considerable and if it is implemented will involve enormous difficulties for solicitors, clients, sureties and the like who are involved in Saturday and bank holiday courts,”

he said.

He said had he been aware of the consultation, he would have raised concerns.

Mr Blackwell, who has contacted Skipton MP Julian Smith, said people from Skipton would be faced with a 50-mile journey – and even more for people from Bentham.

“It’s like holding Brighton Court hearings in central London, the only difference being that between London and Brighton there is some decent transport,” he said.

If centralisation was needed, it would make more sense for it to be to Bradford, he added.

A Court Service spokesman said: “York Magistrates’ Court has sufficient facilities and capacity to deal with the increased workload.

“A three-month stakeholder consultation on the proposal was conducted in August 2010 and all responses were taken into consideration before the decision was made.

"HMCTS is working closely with stakeholders and justice agencies to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangement.”