Cannabis courthouse: Zombie attraction left West Bromwich venue due to leaky roof

The drug haul was found on Sunday inside the former West Bromwich Magistrates Court building, which was temporarily occupied by tourism company Zombie Infection until 2018.

A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of cultivating cannabis, but has since been released without charge.

The Grade II Listed building, in Lombard Street West, dates back to 1890 and was shut in 2011 as part of reduction in the number of courts across England and Wales before being sold off about six years ago by the Ministry of Justice.

Zombie Infection's current owner, Greg Rudman, said the enterprise pulled out of the site four years ago, after taking over the business due to issues with lack of repairs to the property.

Mr Rudman said: "It's a shame this has happened, we loved that building. We didn't own it, we just paid the hire fees into a bank account as far as I'm aware. It was one of our favourite venues when we had it.

"It was an amazing venue and even won an award for being the UK's best zombie experience in 2018 for us.

"We had thousands of happy customers going through there. Unfortunately the weather got to it, the roof leaked and during the winter it got battered by the snow and it just became unusable.

"I was the events manager at the time and I used to go to West Bromwich on Saturdays to run the programme. I bought the business in 2018 and the first thing I did was stop operating in that building in July 2018. I never dealt with the owners and had no idea who they were."

As a Zombie Infection venue, the site was transformed into a theatre-style attraction featuring action scenes, escape room puzzles and a movie style storyline which encouraged visitors to fight along side 'a post apocalyptic' group.

The building was among many to be sold following a major re-organisation by the Court and Tribunal Service which required Sandwell Council to transfer ownership of the Lombard Street West building to the court service in 2005.

It was closed down by the service in 2011 and property agents were appointed to mastermind the sale. At the time senior councillors expressed their dismay at the move.

The magistrates court cases were then transferred to Sandwell Magistrates Court in Oldbury Ringway, but that complex also closed and services transferred to Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton instead.

Dr Paul Birch, who spent 15 years as a magistrate, including in West Bromwich, said the demise of the building was result of the Government's policy of reducing court services.

"We have lost buildings and magistrates. We used to have 30,000 magistrates now the number is 10,000. The Government says it had closed a third of all courts.

"They have closed courts now there is a backlog of 60,000 cases. Cases are now being heard in hotels, barristers are on strike. There needs more investment in courts," Dr Birch said.

Data from the House of Commons’ library showed Halesowen Magistrates Court closed between 2011-2012 and was sold off for £314,250. West Bromwich Magistrates Court closed over the same period and fetched £160,000.

Sandwell closed in 2016-2017 and fetched £530,000 and Staffordshire Magistrates Court closed over the same period and brought in £435,000. Aldridge Magistrates Court closed in 2006 to make way for a £2 million-pound homes and office development.

Cannabis-farm court building dates back 132 years

The former West Bromwich Magistrates Court is a Grade II listed building dating back to the late Victorian era, writes Mark Andrews.

The red-brick building in Lombard Street West, designed by Wood and Kendrick architects, was constructed by Birmingham-based T Rowbotham in 1890. Its foundation stone was laid by Mayor of West Bromwich, Samuel Lees JP, and Mr E W Wheelis, chairman of the county court committee.

It was granted Grade II listed status in September, 1987, but by the start of the 21st century it was beginning to fall into a state of repair and concerns were being expressed that it was not suitable for the needs of the modern justice system.

These were reinforced in 2010, when it was described as being the most expensive court in the Black Country to run.

The Ministry of Justice says the building needed urgent repairs costing £270,000, and was costing £193,805 a year to run.

The report described accommodation as "extremely poor", with magistrates needing to be escorted to use the toilets they had to share with defendants.

"In addition, the custody area is poor and floods regularly," the report said, adding that it failed to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

By this time the building, previously owned by West Bromwich and later Sandwell Council, had been handed to the court service, and speculation was rife that it would close.

Proposals for the building to be replaced with a modern court building were drawn up, and finally given planning permission in April 2010.

But the funding never materialised, and the court closed – with no replacement – as part of a £41 million cost-cutting programme. The court officially closed on April 15, 2011, although no cases had been heard since December. Hearings were instead moved to Warley Magistrates Court in Oldbury.

The building was placed on the market with an asking price of £350,000, with speculation that Sandwell Council could buy the building back.

But in March 2012 it went under the hammer with a guide price of £150,000, and was sold to a private buyer. While it was suggested at the time it would be suitable for conversion to a wine bar, takeaway or cinema, it struggled to attract much interest, and resurfaced on the market again four years later. It was suggested that its Grade II listed status, and its location in a conservation area was hampering its redevelopment.

In 2015, leisure company Dusk Till Dawn started running ghost nights from the building.