Crown prosecutors could move offices from Kingston to Croydon in another blow to local justice.

The news comes as magistrates are still waiting for new courtrooms at Wimbledon as part of promises made before the closure of Kingston’s historic magistrates’ court.

Vacant offices in Wimbledon are meant to be turned into courtrooms to deal with the increase in cases caused by the Government’s decision to reduce the number of courts to save money.

However, work has not yet begun.

David Mulholland, former chairman of the Kingston bench, said: “We’re concerned about the slowness of the promised new courtrooms.

“The court service may be saying ‘we have saved a lot of money’ but the whole justice system is incurring a lot of additional cost.”

He pointed to the recent announcement Kingston police plans to build new cells to cope with demand while those at the court next door lie vacant.

At the same time the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has admitted moving prosecutors out of Eagle House, opposite Kingston police station, to Croydon, is an option.

The CPS sharing of Eagle House with police was heralded as a positive move when prosecutors moved in three years ago, with the ability to work closer with officers and engage with the community.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “There are some options of which that is one of them.”

Prosecutors based at Kingston’s Crown Court would not be affected by the move.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon, Battersea and Richmond magistrates are about to face their first taste of the end of local justice when specific courts take on cases by type rather than location.

Wimbledon will be handed most trials, youth hearings and DVLA prosecutions while remand cases will be heard at South Western Magistrates' Court in Battersea, which is expected to be renamed Lavender Hill.

Road traffic cases, prosecutions by councils and family proceedings will be heard in Richmond.

Edith Macauley – who is also Merton Council’s cabinet member for community safety – said morale on the bench was low because of the shake-up and said magistrates may quit.

Councillor Macauley said: “I became a magistrate because I wanted to deal with local justice in the local area. I don’t know Clapham Junction, I don’t know Richmond.”

A spokesman for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service said: “This allocation of work enables a more efficient listing of cases ensuring that cases will be in a timely period, providing value for money for the taxpayer.”

The court service claimed it would save £319,000 in running costs when it closed Kingston.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Proposals are being considered that include relocating staff from our Richmond and Kingston team to offices in Croydon, where the rest of the boroughs in the district are already based.

“From April 2012, the exchange of all case materials between the CPS and the police will be via a secure digital network. This new way of working presents a real opportunity to provide a more flexible and resilient prosecution service to Londoners through a more centralised approach.

“This is particularly true of our work in Richmond and Kingston, which is carried out by a very small team.

“A decision will be taken in December.”