Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court: Your Family Hearing Guide

Part of: Family Court Guides: Find Your Court Before the Hearing

Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court is in Torquay, not Newton Abbot. Its full name is Torquay and Newton Abbot County and Family Court, and it sits at The Willows, Nicholson Road, Torquay TQ2 7AZ. The building is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. For family matters, it deals with child arrangements when parents separate and with divorce (GOV.UK Find a Court).

This guide explains what to expect on the day, how to ask for help with safety or access, and what to check before you travel. Our guide to your first family court hearing covers the wider process. The law described here is the law of England and Wales.

Where is Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court?

The court is at The Willows, Nicholson Road, Torquay TQ2 7AZ. The name confuses many people. Whether you know it as Torquay county court or as Newton Abbot and Torquay County Court, there is only one county and family court building, and it is in Torquay. If you search for Newton Abbot county court and head into Newton Abbot, you will reach the wrong building.

The court in Newton Abbot is Newton Abbot Magistrates’ Court, at The Court House, Newfoundland Way, TQ12 1LA. Find a Court lists it for crime, the single justice procedure and benefit appeals. It does not list family work there. Always go to the address printed on your letter, and call the court if the letter and this guide do not match.

What family cases does Torquay county court handle?

Find a Court lists five kinds of work at this building. Two of them are family work: childcare arrangements when parents separate, and divorce hearings. The others are bankruptcy, housing and money claims. There is one family court for the whole of England and Wales (Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, s.31A). It sits in many buildings, and your letter tells you which one your hearing is in.

For family paperwork, Find a Court gives a Plymouth family court email address for this building, including for C100 applications. Cases about children in care, with case numbers starting C5, use a separate digital process.

Children cases are not only about where a child lives.

In that situation, the remaining route is an application to the court (Children Act 1989, s.4). Our guide on how to apply for parental responsibility explains how a father can acquire it.

What happens when you arrive at the Torquay and Newton Abbot court?

Most visits follow the same order. Here is what to expect from the car park to the hearing room.

1. Security. Everyone who enters, and everything they carry, is searched. There is a security arch, so tell the officers first if you have a pacemaker.
2. Up to the first floor. The public waiting area is on the first floor. A lift runs from the main entrance, and it takes up to 8 people or 630kg, so wheelchairs fit.
3. Waiting. The time on your letter is when the day’s list starts, and your case may not be first. There is a hot drinks vending machine in the waiting area, but bring food and water too. GovWifi is available in the building.
4. Private rooms. The court has five interview rooms. Ask staff if you need a private space away from the waiting area.
5. Being called in. A member of staff calls you into the hearing room and shows you where to sit. When you hear “all rise if able”, the judge or magistrates are coming in. Our guide on how to address a magistrate or judge covers what to say.
6. Afterwards. The decision may be given on the day, or sent to you later. Leave the building once your hearing ends.

What to bring to your family hearing

Pack the night before a hearing at Newton Abbot County Court’s Torquay building. Some things will not get past security, so check both lists.

There is no formal dress code, but dress as you would for a formal public building.

Who will be in the hearing room?

Family hearings at Newton Abbot county court, as everywhere in England and Wales, are held in private, which means the general public have no right to be there (Family Procedure Rules, r.27.10). The room is usually small. You can expect to see:

• The judge, or magistrates with their legal adviser. They run the hearing and make the decisions.
• The parties. That is you and the other parent, with any lawyer either of you has instructed.
• A Cafcass officer. At the first hearing in a children case, a Cafcass officer must attend (Practice Direction 12B, para 14.6). Our FHDRA hearing guide explains that hearing.
• Accredited journalists. Rule 27.11 lets them attend most private hearings, but the court can exclude them to protect a child, keep someone safe or keep order.

If you do not have a lawyer, you can ask the court to let a McKenzie friend sit with you for practical support.

Can you feel safe at Newton Abbot county court?

Yes, and the time to ask for help is before the day. HMCTS says staff can seat you in a different part of the building from others in your case, or put a screen in the hearing room so the other party cannot see you. Ask by email or phone as soon as you have your hearing date.

The rules also protect you in the hearing itself. If it is stated that you are, or are at risk of being, a victim of domestic abuse by another party, the court must assume your evidence and participation are affected. It must then consider participation directions (FPR r.3A.2A). Those include screens, a live video link and an intermediary (r.3A.8). You can ask the court not to apply that assumption if you do not want it. In addition, a party convicted of, cautioned for or charged with a specified offence cannot cross-examine the alleged victim in person (Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, s.31R).

Read more about special measures in the family court and attending court after domestic abuse. If you need protection now, a non-molestation order is a separate application.

Parking, access and facilities at the court

According to Find a Court, Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court has a public car park at the front of the building, but it has limited capacity. Park only in the marked bays. The designated disabled bays are also at the front, and you should not use them without permission, so ask the court before you travel.

• Step-free. There is level access at the entrance, a lift to the court floors and level access into the hearing rooms.
• Hearing enhancement. It is available by prior arrangement, so contact the court office first.
• Toilets and baby changing. Accessible toilets are on the first floor, and baby changing is in the accessible toilets.
• Other support. Assistance dogs are welcome, and Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyards are available on request.
• Disability help. If you need help to come to a hearing, Find a Court gives 0300 123 5577 as the number to call.

Use the directions link on the court’s Find a Court page to plan your journey. Allow extra time for parking and for the security queue.

Contacting the court before your hearing

Find a Court lists these contact points for family matters at Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court. Quote your case number every time.

Be careful with calls and emails that claim to come from the court. Find a Court warns that scammers copy genuine HMCTS numbers and email addresses and demand payment. If you are unsure, do not pay anything.

What if your hearing is by video or phone?

Not every hearing at Newton Abbot county court happens in the building. A judge can decide to hold a hearing remotely, and the court will tell you how to join (HMCTS remote hearing guidance). Be ready at least 20 minutes early, in a quiet and private space, with your device charged and your papers to hand. For a phone hearing, the court may call from an unknown number, so switch off any call barring. You can still ask for arrangements that help you feel safe, such as making sure the other party cannot see you.

Plan your hearing day in three questions

Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court: frequently asked questions

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.