PLANS to relocate hearings from Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court to Poole have been slightly delayed, Ministry of Justice representatives have confirmed.

The Stafford Road court was initially due to close by the end of the year as part of a major cost-cutting drive by the government.

However, the closure will now happen early in January 2017.

By the beginning of next year, there will be just two magistrates courts - Poole and Weymouth - covering the whole county.

According to a timetable initially published by the HM Courts and Tribunal Service earlier this year, Bournemouth was due to close by late December.

A spokesperson from the service said: “The decision to close a court is never taken lightly.

“However, maintaining underused court buildings is simply unsustainable and costs the taxpayer £500 million a year.

“Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court and we are investing over £700 million to reform and digitise our courts and tribunal services to deliver swifter and more certain justice.”

A consultation launched last summer found that the Grade II listed building in Stafford Road is in “very poor condition” and would require “significant investment” compared to the more modern Poole court at the Civic Centre.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court is currently only used at 52 per cent capacity and running costs for 2014/15 were £382,000.

The spokesperson said the decision to close Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court was not taken lightly, but followed a period of consultation.

“We considered carefully the effect of the closures on all users, and whether it would still allow for effective access to justice, while offering a significant saving,” they said.