LONG-AWAITED law courts planned for Salisbury will not be up and running until the summer of 2009, it has been revealed.

That news means the schedule for a multi-million pound combined courts building, which is to be constructed in Wilton Road, has slipped by yet another year.

When Wiltshire County Council staged consultation seminars on the project in October 2003, it was estimated the courts complex would open in 2006. But the schedule was later revised, with 2008 pencilled in as the completion date.

Now, following a parliamentary question tabled by Salisbury MP Robert Key, Constitutional Affairs Minister, Harriet Harman, has said construction work on the courthouse is expected to commence by the end of July this year, with the courts coming into service two years after that.

Afterwards, Mr Key told the Journal: "We need these courts and I'll hold them to these dates."

When eventually built, the new building will house magistrates' courts, which are currently held in the city's Guildhall, Salisbury Crown Court, the coroner's court and county courts.

The building will also have meeting rooms and a secure custody suite. It is likely the magistrates' courts will be on the ground floor, with crown and county courts on upper floors.

When court users were consulted over the plans three-and-a-half years ago, it was said the building was likely to be higher than many of the surrounding buildings, and there would be a considerable amount of glass, not only to increase natural light but to help with solar heating and to act as a sound barrier against heavy traffic in Wilton Road.

Planners said it would be an energy-efficient complex, using natural ventilation and solar power where possible.

The cost is to be financed jointly by the county council and government's Department of Constitutional Affairs.