Hove Crown Court has closed for three months for a refurbishment during which the roof is due to be replaced and solar panels fitted.
The 12-week schedule of work includes the installation of a new air conditioning system in the 50-year-old building.
The Ministry of Justice said: “Hove Crown Court will close for 12 weeks to allow important planned maintenance works to take place – including a new roof and air conditioning.
“During the closure period, cases will be heard at local alternative sites.”
An extra courtroom has been set aside for crown court cases at the building that houses Brighton Magistrates’ Court, in Edward Street.
All four courtrooms at Lewes Crown Court are also due to be in use as well as two courtrooms at Chichester Crown Court.
The court building in Chichester had been closed but was reopened during the coronavirus pandemic as a “nightingale” court as the backlog of cases grew.
The MoJ said that none of the work at Hove was related to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) which has led to some other buildings being declared unsafe.
The ministry added: “The decision was taken to close the site entirely to reduce disruption to court users and the length of the period of closure.
“The planned works will include a roof replacement and improvements to air conditioning and electrics in the building.”
The boiler and heating system and the air conditioning have become increasingly unreliable, sometimes meaning that juries have been unable to sit.
This has added to the delays that have beset the courts over the past few years.
The covid pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the barristers’ strike in 2022 played a bigger part in compounding the backlog that has been widely blamed on years of underinvestment.
Legal aid has been cut and courts have closed while the remaining courts have not always had enough judges, lawyers and other staff to enable them to function effectively.
The courthouse, in Lansdowne Road, originally opened as Hove Magistrates’ Court in the early 1970s, with four courtrooms, more recently becoming a crown court instead.
The magistrates previously sat in the old Hove Town Hall which was demolished after a devastating fire in 1966. The new town hall was officially opened in 1974.
The new courthouse – sometimes referred to as Hove Trial Centre – was completed in 1972 and officially opened by the Lord Chancellor, Quintin Hogg, also known as Lord Hailsham in 1973.
