Preferred site for new Bradford Coroner's Court identified - but Council won't reveal where due to commercial confidentiality

In 2016 Coroner Martin Fleming made a plea to have the court re-located.

It is currently based in Bradford and Keighley Magistrate's Court, but Mr Fleming was unhappy that grieving relatives and friends have to be frisked by court security staff on their way in to attend the hearings.

He also described the waiting room as a "disgrace."

Earlier this year Bradford Council announced it would set aside money to re-locate the court, but since then any discussions about the re-location have been held in meetings where the press and public were excluded.

The Local Democracy Service submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Council to ask what sites have been considered and if there was any preferred option.

In response to the request, a Bradford Council spokesman said: "A number of sites have been considered.

"There is a preferred option, but at this stage it is subject to commercial confidentiality.

"Disclosure of possible sites being considered, preferred locations and also the stage efforts to relocate the Coroner’s Court are up to would at the current time adversely affect the confidentiality of the Council’s commercial information.

"Although there is a public interest in facilitating accountability and transparency in disclosing details of the relocation of the Coroner’s Court and the spending of public money there is an overriding public interest in ensuring that the economic and financial dealings of the Council with third parties are not currently disclosed, as disclosure of this specific information could adversely prejudice the Council’s and third parties’ economic and commercial interests."