Derby Assembly Rooms: £45m plan for venue hit by fire

Derby's Assembly Rooms that were hit by a major blaze are to be demolished and replaced after a city council U-turn.

The events venue has been closed since the fire in 2014, with plans going from demolition to refurbishment when Conservatives took over at the council.

But this was halted in January when costs rose past the £30m mark.

Now a £45m scheme will see a new venue built in the Becketwell area and the original site used for a park or to extend a nearby market.

The Assembly Rooms had stood empty while options for its future were debated.

Labour proposed a £44m rebuilding plan in 2018 but then lost control of the council.

The Conservatives said refurbishing the building was better value but abandoned this after estimated costs surged past £24m.

Deputy leader of the council, Matthew Holmes, said it was "unacceptable" Derby had been without a major venue for so long.

"There needs to be a debate at some point about what has gone on in the past but for us we need to draw a line under that and move forward," he said.

"There are very big differences to what has gone before to what we are proposing now.

"Had we been able to deliver the Assembly Rooms plan for the cost we said, it would have been a viable plan but that wasn't possible."

He added the venue, expected to open in 2024/25 would be built and run by private sector contractors.

Mr Holmes also insisted the Assembly Rooms site would "absolutely not" be left unused, with "exciting schemes" being put together.

It is hoped it will generate £11m a year for the city, including over 200 jobs and 250,000 visitors.

Andy Barrow, of the Derby-based theatre company Oddsocks, said: "If it happens and people have the money to buy tickets, this will be good news for the entire city".

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