BICESTER Magistrates' Court will be closed down by next spring, Ministers announced today.

The future of the court, off Queen's Avenue, was thrown into doubt in July when the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced a consultation into closing underused and poor quality court buildings.

Bicester Magistrates' Court was one of 91 court and tribunal buildings across the country listed as contenders to be shut because it was running at 11 per cent of capacity.

But Ministers confirmed today that the court will be closed down for good some time between January and March next year along with 85 other courts by the end of 2017.

Courts and Tribunals Minister Shailesh Vara said the justice system is need of "urgent reform" and the closure of 86 court buildings will save taxpayers vital cash.

He added: "Maintaining our underused and dilapidated court buildings costs the taxpayer £500 million a year but some courts sit for less than half the time available.

"This is simply unsustainable. Closing these courts in poor quality buildings will raise £40m to re-invest in the justice system, and save hard-working taxpayers £27m per year.

"The decision to close a court is never taken lightly, but in the digital age I am confident we have measures in place to ensure access to justice is not diminished."

The MoJ launched the 12-week consultation last year into reviewing the future of 91 court and tribunal buildings across the country that were being used for only a third of their available time.

The 12-week consultation closed in October, and the MoJ received more than 2,100 responses along with 13 petitions containing more than 10,000 signatures.

But today it announced which of the buildings will be shut down and when.

Bicester Magistrates' Court was built in 1957, but has not been used for criminal cases since 2013, with the two cells being decommissioned in 2010.

However, it has a courtroom open five days a week for family work - both private and public - with the second court room open twice a week.

But once the court closes the case loads will be moved to Oxford Combined Court, with a new hearing room being created to accommodate the extra work.