Neath Magistrates Court

Opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra in 1977, the Magistrates Court in Neath has seen many thousands of cases pass through its court rooms. This imposing building stands in the centre of Neath, fronted by an area of landscaped lawns and shrubs.

The heat gain by the building during the summer months was increasing, giving rise to unacceptably high temperatures within the court rooms. RACS were asked to install air conditioning to counter this problem.

All of the court rooms are in the upper stories of the building, providing access for the ducting and services from the roof. This also provided a suitable position for the installation of the a/c units. The major problem with installing the equipment at this level was the condition imposed in the contract, that no roof work could be undertaken while the courts were in session. As this was from 10 to the late afternoon, 5 days a week, the installation had to be phased very carefully.The internal and roof work were accommodated by closing one of the three courts at a time, while the work in the general areas had to be undertaken at weekends, and the lifting of equipment onto the roof during a Sunday. While this timetable allowed work during the day, this could only be above the court which was closed, and had to be kept to a minimum so as not to disturb the progress of justice.

This installation varies from the traditional cooling systems by having two separate functions. The cooling is by 'air displacement' where the cooled air is supplied to the rooms at low level, and operates on 100% fresh air. A separate fan driven ventilation system exhausts the stale air from high level, and can be used independently of the cooling system.This air displacement system ensures that the air quality in the court rooms can be maintained at an acceptable level throughout the year, and that cooling is available during the warm summer months."RACS carried out the installation entirely in line with their remit and coped admirably with the imposed conditions.

The air quality in the court rooms is now much better, to the extent that most people do not notice it. To date we are completely satisfied with the equipment and more than satisfied in the way it was installed”

Ceri Evans
Deputy Clerk to the Justices