ALTHOUGH the official opening is not until Friday, the new Armidale Courthouse has been in full swing for the past two weeks.
The multi-million dollar building is a dream come true for a group of volunteers who used to operate their service from an old card table at the previous courthouse.
The Northern Tablelands Justices of the Peace Association said they were loving their dedicated room in the new facility.
Last year the JPs provided more than 2700 services from their community desk at the courthouse, witnessing and certifying all manner of documents.
Bob Hanson, who provided more than 5600 JP services from the courthouse since starting in 2009, said the association was delighted.
“I’ve been a JP for nearly 44 years and it’s been my pleasure to be able to provide this service to the community,” he said.
“It’s a privilege to work with people who are professional and dedicated and we’d love to welcome any other JPs who would like to volunteer some of their time to the community desk.”
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said 10 volunteer members provided vital services free of charge to the community from the courthouse three days a week and it was pleasing to see they had their own office.
“The circumstances for the JPs at the old courthouse were not ideal – they would sometimes set up with a card table and a few chairs,” he said.
“There was little privacy and the situation was far from user-friendly, so it’s great to see the service they provide is highly valued by the court’s administration and they have been granted a private and furnished office to carry out their important work.”
Mr Hanson said the group was hoping to be able to offer expanded JP services at the courthouse for two hours a day, five days a week but would need more volunteers to come forward before that could be established.
