A HAMPSHIRE police station is expanding into a redundant court building that has been bought for £900,000.

Lyndhurst police station is next door to the New Forest's former magistrates' court, which closed almost ten years ago as part a major cost-cutting drive by the government.

The two-storey building beside the A337 has been purchased by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

It follows the government's 2019 pledge to recruit an extra 20,000 police officers over a three-year period, 156 of whom will be recruited in Hampshire in the first 12 months.

Daily Echo:

The county's current Police and Crime Commissioner is Michael Lane.

His spokesperson said: “The existing police station in Lyndhurst is no longer fit for purpose. The court forms part of the same building and it was necessary to purchase the court to fully formulate a strategy for the re-provision of the police station.

"The OPCC is working with the constabulary to plan the most effective and efficient use of the police estate, taking account of the officer uplift."

It was one of 142 UK courts closed by the Ministry of Justice to save more than £40m.

For the past nine years New Forest cases have been heard in Southampton, resulting in longer journeys for magistrates, solicitors and defendants.

The decision to close the Lyndhurst court was widely condemned.

Speaking at the time the Forest's most senior magistrate, said: "We produced a compelling and convincing case that refuted many of the claims made in the closure consultation document.

“Now, after only 15 years of use, a modern, well-appointed and functional building will now go to waste.

“It’s somewhat ironic that in 2011, when the judiciary will be celebrating 650 years of Justices of the Peace, so many magistrates’ courts will be closed, continuing the erosion of the historic principle of local justice.”