[4][5] The new building was designed by the Property Services Agency in the Modernist style, built in red brick at a cost of £7 million,[6] and was opened in 1982.

[7][8] The design involved an asymmetrical main frontage facing east onto a small courtyard.

A Royal coat of arms, formed from cast iron, was mounted on a brick pedestal just to the right of the steps.

[9] Notable cases include the trial and conviction of David Lace, in June 1984, for robbery at a post office;[10] in September 2009, some 21 years after his death, he was named by police as the murderer of Teresa De Simone.

[11][12] Notable cases also included the trial and conviction of Mark Brandford, in February 2021, for the murder of his girlfriend, Kayleigh Dunning.