A NEW super court complex combining magistrates and crown courts in Weymouth or Dorchester came a step closer today after a new shake-up.

The separate organisations running Dorchester Crown Court, county and magistrates courts have been merged into the new Her Majesty's Court's Service (HMCS).

Now area director Rod Brummitt claimed the increased might and resources of the Dorset HMCS should help in the fight for funding for the new complex.

The site would house the crown court now at Dorchester, all magistrates and county courts from Dorset except for Bournemouth and Poole.

But no decision has yet been made whether it would be sited in Weymouth or Dorchester.

Mr Brummitt said: "In the past the Dorset Magistrates' Courts Committee had to compete as a small fish in a large pond.

"When we belong to a bigger and larger organisation, we are in a position to draw upon of a larger organisation and the expertise available for us to developer this project.

"I am looking forward to stating Dorset's case."

The HMCS was launched as a nationwide reform of the magistrates, county and crown courts system.

Top figures from the HMCS board travelled to London for a ceremony with the Queen at the Royal Courts of Justice to mark the launch.

Judge John Beashel, the resident judge at Dorchester Crown Court, Bridport JP Roger Davies and Victim Support area manager Barry Shorto are among the figures on the Dorset board of the HMCS. The new county board has pledged to hold one public meeting each year but also identified the provision of new court houses as a 'key issue' for the future.

Jim Hoare, Dorset HMCS chairman, said: "The Dorset HMCS's area mission is to deliver a modern courts service which providers take pride in, users have confidence in and one that is publicly recognised as fair, effective and efficient."

He added: "The board intends to meet four times a year and will focus on the area's business plan, recommending changes where necessary to ensure that the service delivered to the public is consistent with local needs."

The crown courts at Bournemouth and Dorchester have amalgamated with county courts and magistrates in Weymouth, Bridport, Blandford, Bournemouth, Poole, Sherborne and Wimborne under the new Dorset HMCS area.

Mr Hoare said that new buildings were necessary as the majority of the estate inherited by the HMCS dated back to the 1960s and 1970s and no longer met the 'needs of the user' or provided a 'suitable working environment for staff'.

The aim of the move is to bring the administration of courts under one roof to bring more offenders to justice, give victims and witnesses better facilities and allow stricter enforcement of court orders.

Mr Hoare is a former chairman of the Magistrates Courts Committee. Judge Beashel, who lives in Ferndown, is also liaison judge to Dorset Magistrates.

Other members of the Dorset panel are deputy chairman Dr Malcolm Macleod, who is a member of the Dorset Police Authority and lives in Wareham, and Dorset Probation Board chairman Margeret Topliss from Wimborne.

Before, magistrates courts were run separately from the Government-run Court Service that ran the Court of Appeal, High Court and crown and county courts.