Derby Assembly Rooms: Campaign to save venue

Campaigners are fighting to save a famous Derby performance venue from demolition after a fire six years ago.

The Assembly Rooms is set to be replaced with a new venue in the Becketwell area of the city.

It comes after city council plans to renovate the 1970s building were force to stop by spiralling costs.

Derby Civic Society wants the building to be reopened and listed, fearing a new venue will take too long to create.

A catastrophic fire broke out in the Assembly Rooms roof car park in 2014, forcing the venue to close.

Since then it has stood empty while options for its future are debated.

Ashley Waterhouse, chairman of Derby Civic Society, said: "We say it needs to be reopened because we have no theatre in Derby for tourism, or anybody to come to Derby to watch any big gigs or performances."

Mr Waterhouse questioned plans to build a new performance venue instead.

He said: "It's going to be at least four years until we have this super-duper new venue.

"When the venue is built, up on the old Becketwell site, it's going to be tucked behind another building,"

The appearance of the Assembly Rooms has been criticised but Mr Waterhouse thinks it "would look smart" if the council stuck to its original renovation plan.

Deputy leader of the council, Matthew Holmes, previously said refurbishing the Assembly Rooms "would have been a viable plan" if the council had been able to deliver it at the original cost.

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