New Derby performance venue criticised for 'dull' look approved

Plans for a new £45m arena in Derby have been approved, despite being labelled "dull" by councillors.

The 3,500-capacity Becketwell Performance Venue will replace the Assembly Rooms, which were damaged by a fire in 2014.

The city council had wanted to refurbish the Assembly Rooms but dropped the plans when costs spiralled.

Planning permission for the new arena was granted despite some councillors comparing plans to an "office block".

In Thursday's city council planning meeting, Labour councillor Joanna West said: "It's not a great design, it's quite dull.

"I was hoping for a lot better, we need to be more ambitious."

Planning committee chairman and Labour councillor Shiraz Khan said: "This is a flagship venue for the city, and we can't have it looking like an office block on the back.

"What welcomes everybody is this grey building that isn't appealing."

But Liberal Democrat councillor Mike Carr said: "I got married in a church on that site, there was a cinema on that site.

"Since then I've looked at it with dismay for what's gone on there for god knows how many years. I think this is an excellent development for the city of Derby."

The approval of the new venue comes seven years after a fire gutted the Assembly Rooms.

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" that Derby had been without a major venue for so long.

The project was granted approval subject to conditions and could open in 2024.

Meanwhile, the city council is considering building a new home for Derby Theatre on the Assembly Rooms site.

Derby Theatre said it was "rapidly" outgrowing its current space inside a shopping centre.

The authority hopes the scheme could help create a "new cultural heart" for the city.

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