(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, nothing in the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980—
(a)requiring a magistrates' court—
(i)to be composed of two or more justices; or
(ii)to sit in a petty sessional court-house or an occasional court-house; or
(b)limiting the powers of a magistrates' court—
(i)when composed of a single justice; or
(ii)when sitting elsewhere than in a petty sessional court-house,
shall apply to any stipendiary magistrate sitting in a place appointed for the purpose.
(2)Subsection (1) above does not apply to the hearing or determination of family proceedings within the meaning of section 65 of the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980.