Caernarfon Criminal Justice Centre

Until the early 21st century, criminal court hearings in Caernarfon were held in the County Hall at Castle Ditch.[1] However, as the number of court cases in Caernarfon grew, it became necessary to commission a more modern courthouse for criminal matters: the site selected in Llanberis Road had been occupied by Segontium School, which had dated from 1912 but which had closed in 2005.[2][3][4]

Work on the new building started in May 2007, when the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, cut the first sod.[5][6] It was designed by Austin-Smith:Lord in the Modernist style,[7][8] built by Balfour Beatty in dark blue and red brick at a cost of £12 million and was completed in May 2009.[9][10]

The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing onto Llanberis Road. The plan involved two wings, one intended for the offices and the other for the courtrooms.[11] The left hand section section was built in dark blue brick and was fenestrated with single, bi-partite and tri-partite casement windows on two floors, while the right hand section, which was projected forward, was built in red brick and featured a grey stone-clad portico on the left with Royal coat of arms at first floor level above, and a large expanse of glazing on the right. Internally, the building was laid out to accommodate four courtrooms.[12] The design was commended in the BREEAM Awards for Wales in 2009.[13]

The building was subsequently sold to London & Capital Group and leased back from that company under a private developer scheme initiative.[14]

Notable cases included the trial and conviction of Colin Milburn, in November 2022, for the murder of his long-term partner, Buddug Jones.[15][16]