THE future of Devizes courthouse is still uncertain as its replacement in Salisbury remains the subject of a spending review.

Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Yvette Cooper, announced the proposal last year to fund a new magistrates court complex in Wilton Road, Salisbury, which would not only replace the unsatisfactory facilities in the city's Guildhall, but those in Devizes as well.

But now the multi-million-pound project has been called in by the Treasury and will be part of a spending review.

It is by no means certain that it will now go ahead, especially as the Government is keen to cut public spending and keep down tax increases following criticism during the recent general election campaign.

That would mean that the present temporary building in Northgate Gardens, which has served as the town's courthouse since the Assize Courts were sold off in the late 1980s, will continue to dispense justice.

But Norman Jeffery, the area director of the new combined courts organisation, Her Majesty's Courts Service for Wiltshire, said he was confident the new courthouse in Salisbury would go ahead, at least in the long term.

He said: "Even if it is not included in this year's estates strategy, there is no question that it will be included the following year.

"But until we see the project in the estates strategy, we can not presume that it is going ahead. I know this is not ideal, as Wiltshire needs a new courthouse."

He said that the new building had not progressed as fast as was anticipated, though the architects for the project had been appointed.

Mr Jeffery added that the end of 2007 was a realistic assumption of an opening date for the new Salisbury court complex. If it is much later than that, it could involve the new courts service in a hasty renegotiation of its lease, which will have expired by then.

Once the new court opens, then Devizes courthouse must close, and all those who now attend Northgate Gardens will have to find their way to Wilton Road.

That would be a blow for Devizes MP Michael Ancram who has fought to retain the last courthouse in his constituency. Those in Marlborough, Pewsey and Melksham have long since closed and Mr Ancram, who was returned as MP by a comfortable majority last week, insists that local justice should be delivered locally.

Mr Ancram said that the loss of the magistrates' court would be a sad day for Devizes.

He said: "It is a real blow to the concept of local justice. Having fought so hard to prevent it, I regret this move very much.

"It is yet another part of the structure of our rural communities that is begin dismantled by this government."

When Devizes courthouse closes there will be only three magistrates courts left in Wiltshire, at Swindon, Chippenham and Salisbury.

Defendants, witnesses, solicitors, police officers and probation officers will then have to travel 25 miles across Salisbury Plain. If they have no transport, it is likely to cost them a minimum of £6 return fare and involve a journey of two hours each way. Trowbridge magistrates' court, the last in West Wiltshire district, closed its doors in 2003 after an inspection condemned its facilities, especially for custody cases.

Devizes courthouse has not been able to host cases in which the defendant is either in custody or facing a jail sentence because its secure accommodation does not comply with the Human Rights Act. Similarly, Salisbury's present magistrates' court cannot deal with custody cases.

Many such cases have to be dealt with over the county border in Hampshire, at Andover magistrates' court, which is underused because local custody cases are dealt with at Basingstoke.