Crown prosecutor Phillip Ingram SC is one of five new appointments made to the NSW District Court in a bid to cut backlogs, Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Attorney General Gabrielle Upton confirmed.

He will take the place of Judge Gordon Lerve who in the past five years in his role at Dubbo has been the only judge permanently based in an inland NSW centre.

“The appointment of Mr Ingram will ensure western NSW continues to have a judge who lives and works in the community and understands the region’s crime issues,” Mr Grant said.

Judge Lerve will make the move to Wagga Wagga to be the Riverina’s first fulltime judge.

A District Court judge has also been appointed to sit permanently in Tamworth and Armidale, with Jeffery McLennan SC, another of the five new appointees, announced as the successful candidate.

The appointment of Mr Ingram is part of the NSW government’s $39 million budget package to tackle backlogs in the system, Mr Grant said.

By September last year the NSW District Court backlog had reached 2055 cases, more than double the level in 2007 and numerous members of the legal profession said delays would continue if there were no allocation of extra resources.

The budget package will also fund a range of other initiatives including targeted trial call-overs to bring parties together to resolve matters earlier, additional public defenders and initial plea discussions to identify early guilty pleas.

“Mr Ingram’s high standing within the justice system was recognised when he was appointed as a senior counsel in 2010 and his elevation to the bench is well deserved,” Ms Upton said.

During a legal career spanning more than 30 years, Mr Ingram has practised primarily in the criminal jurisdiction but also has experience in civil law, Mr Grant reports.

He was called to the Bar in 1984, became a Crown prosecutor in 1992 and has been a deputy senior Crown prosecutor since 2008.

He took silk in 2010.

Mr Ingram has appeared as counsel for the prosecution or accused in about 200 District Court trials and more than 20 Supreme Court trials.

Ms Upton congratulated the five on their appointments and they will be sworn in next month.