On the 10th anniversary of the fire that closed Derby's Assembly Rooms, the city council has announced the demolition of the almost 47-year-old building will begin in autumn to clear the site and make way for a new multimillion-pound cultural, commercial and creative public space in its place. The future of the building had been under the spotlight almost from when it closed, following a fire on top of the adjacent car park on March 14, 2014.
The council has also released an artist's impression of the proposed project, which includes a multi-storey office and meeting space, as well as restaurant and commercial spaces. An opportunity will be taken to redesign and enhance the Market Place and according to Councillor Nadine Peatfield, council cabinet member for regeneration, tourism and culture, says it will become "a more inviting space, greener and somewhere that people will want to sit".
Last month, the council announced VINCI Developments UK and ION Developments as its preferred development partners for the redevelopment of the Assembly Rooms site, which the council owns. Along with proposals for other key areas within the city centre, the partnership has produced an outline masterplan to create a new cultural quarter on the site, forming Derby’s cultural heart.
Work is now under way to develop detailed proposals alongside stakeholders in the city over the next six months to develop their vision and submit their plans for the site, along with costs and how it will work financially. Pre-demolition works began on the site in 2023 to remove asbestos initially and will now be ramped up. Mrs Peatfield has also given an undertaking that the almost complete original Jacobean ceiling in the foyer to the Darwin Suite will be removed and saved.
It came from 17th-century Newcastle House that stood on the site of the original Assembly Rooms, which burned down in 1963, and was discovered when it was demolished.
Mrs Peatfield said: "For the past ten years the Assembly Rooms has stood empty, waiting to be regenerated into a hub of cultural activity. After several unviable plans being put forward over the past decade, this administration is confident that we can deliver on these plans for the citizens of Derby. I’m thrilled to be announcing that we plan to progress on the demolition of the Assembly Rooms this autumn.
"We’re on a journey to transform Derby into a vibrant city centre with culture at its heart, creating a go-to destination which not only attracts visitors from outside of the wider region but also offers an affordable place for our citizens to enjoy. It’s fantastic to see change happening in the city centre, with the Market Place taking centre stage at the heart of Derby’s transformation."
It is likely to take up to nine months to demolish the Assembly Rooms and during that period, space in the Market Place will be reduced as a wider cordon is built to protect the public and also the nearby arts centre Quad. Mrs Peatfield added: "We are working with Derby Live to make sure that last year's highly successful Christmas period is able to continue and also that the Remembrance services go ahead as normal."
Graham Lambert, managing director of VINCI UK Developments, said: "Derby as a city has much to offer and potential to be harnessed. We share the ambition of the council, the local community and businesses, in seeking to revitalise the cultural core of the city. The council has laid the foundation for this, and we will create community-led assets, flexible and diverse spaces and a quality business district that complements the inward investment in the city.
And Steve Parry, managing director of ION Developments, added: "We are delighted to be selected alongside VINCI Developments to work up these exciting plans. Together, we will use our extensive experience to create a thriving city centre location that offers a blend of cultural, community and commercial space to meet Derby’s needs, both now and long into the future."
Working with development partners, VINCI and ION, will help to bring in significant private and public sector investment to deliver on the council's ambitions but its too soon to discuss the finances in details, according to the council.
The announcement that the demolition of the Brutalist-style building is imminent will disappoint many architectural experts and conservationists, who sprang to the building's defence when pulling it down was first mooted several years ago. Petitions containing thousands of names have been handed to the council to urge that it be saved. At one stage, it was decided that demolition could go ahead but only after an alternative plan was in place and planning approved.
When questioned about this, Mrs Peatfield said that a workaround had been decided and that it was "no longer an issue".
Most local people know where they were when smoke billowed across the city at around teatime 10 years ago. At first it was thought that the Assembly Rooms itself was on fire, with a performance by dancer Anton Du Beke due to take place and many people already in the building for early drinks and food. It was quickly evacuated and Mr Du Beke greeted fans in the Market Place, where everyone had gathered.
But ironically, the building, which was opened by the Queen Mother in the year that Derby became a city in 1977, was untouched by the flames which started in a plant room on top of the car park. But vital air conditioning, hot water and heating control systems were destroyed.
Sadly after 37 years of providing entertainment, which included pantomimes starring names such as Lionel Blair, Sylvester McCoy and Neil Morrissey, and artists such as Elton John, Tony Bennett, Manic Street Preachers, Iron Maiden, The Smiths and an early appearance from Take That in 1992, as well as the annual beer festival and University of Derby graduation, the venue was never to reopen as first one and then another political administration seemed to struggle to know what to do next with it.
Initial hopes that the venue would re-open fairly quickly were dashed when the council said it would remain closed for "at least 18 months", leading to the cancellation of dozens of shows. On March 5, 2015, the council finally admitted that the Assembly Rooms would never re-open.
In 2017, Derbyshire Live was allowed to look around the building and found it was almost exactly as it had been left on the night of the blaze, almost as if time had stood still. The building had undergone a new look not long before this with eye-catching signs and decoration and a new ceiling in the Great Hall.
In 2018, a plan to demolish the building and replace it with a new performance venue by the then Labour administration was put forward but halted after the Conservatives came to power the same year. They then drew up plans to refurbish and restore the building until it was realised that failing concrete roof supports would make the project financially unviable. But this too came to a halt after costs increased from around £10 million to around £30 million.
Instead, a plan was drawn up to build a new £45.8 million performance venue in Becketwell, which is now well under way and due to open in early 2025.
But that still left the thorny question of what to do with the Assembly Rooms. The writing was on the wall in 2021 when councillors voted to demolish the building, once an alternative plan was in place, with five years to achieve it. The timeline was reduced later that year when a plan to relocate Derby Theatre from the Derbion shopping centre to the site was revealed.
The cost of building the new theatre was estimated at at least £60 million and with just £20 million on the table from the Government, the idea was dismissed last year and the money will be spent instead on refurbishing and expanding the existing Derby Theatre and repairing and refurbishing the Guildhall Theatre, which has been closed for five years following a ceiling collapse.
The history of the Assembly Rooms so far
1977 - In the beginning
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Ironically, following a fire in the old Assembly Rooms in 1963, Derby was without an "assembly rooms" of any sort until 1977 when a new Brutalist style building appeared at a cost of £4.5 million - paid for by adding an extra penny on council tax. It was opened by the Queen Mother on November 9, 1977. The opening concert was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and was attended by invited guests and VIPs, including then Mayor of Derby Councillor Jeffrey Tillett.
After the 1963 fire, Derby Town Council approved plans for “the construction of a new civic hall”. What Derby needed was a new venue for civic and cultural events - a building that could entertain and host concerts, banquets, dances and exhibitions. Over the next three years, various schemes were put forward, some even including alternative locations. Indeed, on November 18, 1968, the Derby Evening Telegraph revealed a new “riverside plan for the multi-functional civic centre” next to the Council House, where Derby Crown Court stands today.
.The north side of the Market Place had always been the favoured location for an entertainment venue, however, and this was where focus finally settled. The council approved an architecture design competition for the scheme and, by April 1970, 13 firms were in the running to land the contract. In October, Casson, Codnor and Partners were unveiled as the winners. By December 1972, construction began with the summer of 1975 the likely date for its completion. But, over the next few years, financial problems and setbacks dogged the scheme and it wasn’t until November 1977 that the place was ready to open.
Plans to call it the Royal Assembly Rooms in the Queen's silver jubilee year, were rejected by the Home Office and the council, in turn, rejected two compromise suggestions of the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Hall. It was eventually decided to simply name the building the Assembly Rooms.
Who came to the venue?
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Over the years, a myriad of well-known names and faces appeared at the Assembly Rooms including Elton John, Jack Jones, Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Manic Street Preachers, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. There was also an early visit from Take That in 1992
Pantomime formed a big part of the entertainment offer each year, attracting quite a few big names at the time. The Assembly Rooms launched its first Christmas pantomime Aladdin in December 2003, starring Nigel Pivaro, Gary McNie and Sonia. Bernie Clifton also appeared as Wishee Washee.
In December 2004, it was the turn of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starring Sherrie Hewson, who played the Wicked Queen and Lionel Blair who played Muddles. TV stars Alison Hammond and Stephanie Dooley brought us the tale of Cinderella in December 2005. And that old perennial Peter Pan was the panto in December 2006. Among the stars was comic actress Mina Anwar and showbiz personality Gary Wilmot.
December 2007 saw Jack and the Beanstalk performed, starring Lisa Scott-Lee as the Princess, Antonio Fargas as Fleshcreep, and Johnny Shentall as Jack, while in 2008 Doctor Who Time Lord Sylvester McCoy was the henchman 'Orrible Herman in the December 2008 production of Snow White. Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrissey was Buttons in Cinderella in 2009.
The venue also saw the establishment of the still ongoing CAMRA beer festival and was also the regular venue for University of Derby graduation ceremonies each January.
On November 9, 2002, there was a free open day with tours, live music, children's activities and lighting displays to celebrate the venue's 25th anniversary.
March 2014 - Fire in Assembly Rooms car park
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Around tea-time and just a couple of hours before Ballroom to Broadway with Anton Du Beke was scheduled, early patrons were forced to evacuate the premises in a hurry, leaving their belongings and unfinished meals and drinks as fire broke out shooting flames up to 40 feet into the air.
The massive blaze left a huge plume of dense black smoke hanging across the city. The fire on the roof of the Assembly Rooms car park saw flames shooting up to 40ft into the air. Seventy-fire firefighters in 16 fire engines, five with aerial platforms, tackled the blaze, which broke out at 5.20pm, and brought it largely under control by 7.30pm.
The blaze was concentrated on the top floor of the car park, which contained air conditioning, hot water and heating units for the Assembly Rooms. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue confirmed that the fire “looked to have started in the plant room” on top of the car park, which had been completely burnt out. Gavin Tomlinson, then Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service area manager, said: “The fire was starting to spread to the Assembly Rooms itself but we managed to stop it. "
Streets around the scene were sealed off and crowds of onlookers were pushed back to a safe distance by police as the fire took hold. The acrid smell of the smoke could be detected by drivers travelling along the A52 and across other areas of the city. Firefighters wearing breathing equipment carried out a full search of the car park after the fire was out.
Anton Du Beke said it was the first time in six years of touring "that I have had to cancel a show". He greeted fans outside the Guildhall, where staff from the Assembly Rooms were evacuated to.
April 2014 - Derby City Council says Assembly Rooms will remain closed
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Initial hopes that the venue would re-open fairly quickly were dashed when the council said it would remain closed for "at least 18 months", leading to the cancellation of dozens of shows.
A statement said it would out of action due to an “ongoing assessment of damage” following the fire, although it was estimated it would cost millions to repair.
The closure meant dozens of performances were cancelled, although people were refunded. The council has also announced that the Assembly Rooms car park would remain closed until further notice “to ensure safety of the public”.
An investigation into the fire had found that the blaze started in an air conditioning unit on the top floor of the car park and was believed to have been caused by overheated machinery .
March 2015 - No future for Assembly Rooms
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On March 5, the council finally admitted that the Assembly Rooms would never re-open and plans were drawn up to demolish the building and rebuild another venue on the site or possibly in Duckworth Square.
If a similar venue is not built in its place, developers suggested that it could be replaced by a complex with retail, restaurants and bars on the bottom and possibly flats on top. Councillor Martin Rawson, then cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said the plans for the new venue “presented lots of exciting opportunities for the Assembly Rooms site” and that the council hoped to “restore the market place to the heart of Derby”.
Mr Rawson said the council did not have the finances to build the venue and would look to the private sector for the cash for the building. He added: "We’ve an estimate that it has five to 10 years left in it. We don’t think spending £10 million to get a building for that period of time represents value for money.”
A draft report on the state of the building, drawn up by fire safety experts for the council’s insurers, Zurich, revealed more issues that would need work if the venue was to reopen .It said there were multiple areas where fire walls in the building were breached and “not correctly reinstated” . It also said the building’s ventilation system had been “poorly maintained”, though the council said this continues to be a “point of discussion” with the writers of the report. Mr Rawson said the limitations the Assembly Rooms has always had as an entertainment venue were another reason not to fork out the cash for re-opening.
He said: “The seating capacity for example – it’s too small to be profitable for commercial-type shows. We’ve had discussions with the private sector and they’ve been unwilling to take on the building as it is. ”The tender for a new venue will be later this year, after the council’s 15-year master plan for the city centre is finalised in October."
November 2015 - Insurance pay-out
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In 2014, the council announced that it was claiming £5.5 million to cover loss of assets damaged in the fire, the cost of remedial work and financial losses from the venue’s closure. It saved money on maintenance and utility bills but lost an estimated total of £1,256,000 over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 financial years.
The pay-out eventually of £5.05 million prompted questions about why it could not be re-opened. The Labour council said it would not be value for money to do so, as the actual cost of reopening would be £10 million and then the “life expectancy” of the building would only be a decade. It says some of the money covers loss of revenue from not having events there, costs incurred from making the building safe, and the cost of evaluating the fire damage.
The authority also said some of the cash was spent on “replacement of necessary IT equipment”. The city’s Conservative opposition believed the £10 million figure quoted by the Labour leadership was “significantly more than would actually be needed to reopen the Assembly Rooms”. Its then deputy leader, Councillor Matthew Holmes, said: “Since the fire, it seems clear to the Conservative group that the council made a quick decision not to reopen and everything since has been designed to fit with that agenda. The Assembly Rooms was not perfect by any means, but it was a well used and vital facility for the city. Labour made a huge mistake by choosing to close it.
“Had we been in control of the council, the building would now be refurbished and reopened, and delivering a wide range of events and shows. The blaze happened in the plant room on top of the site’s car park, which was full of machinery running the building’s water, heating and ventilation systems."
2017 - Derby Telegraph takes a look inside Assembly Rooms
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After requesting for almost a year a look inside the abandoned building, we were allowed in to discover that because it was untouched by fire, the building looked exactly the same as it was on the night of the blaze. Cold and empty, the rooms needed a good clean-out to be back to normal it seemed but otherwise it was as if it was still in use and waiting for the next event.
The first thing that struck you when you walked into the defunct building is the smell – musty, stale and airless – making it fell very neglected and unloved. It is almost as if time as stood still since the night of the fire – a fire which did not reach the public areas of the venue in Derby’s Market Place – but which may well have done, with the closure of the place which followed.
Most of the more valuable photographs, pictures and general equipment, including photos of stars who appeared at the venue, such as comedians Peter Kay and Lee Evans – and a portrait of the Queen Mother – had long been removed by the council. They had been put into storage – until a new suitable home is found for them.
There was cutlery, coat-hangers from the cloakroom, menus and chairs, which are stacked up on the first-floor walkway overlooking Market Place. Sequins from someone’s dress caught the light and were mixed in with the dust and fluff on the carpet. Not long before the fateful fire, the Assembly Rooms had undergone a new look, with smart, eye-catching signage telling patrons where to find the Great Hall, toilets and food outlets. They were still in situ, in their uniform magenta and white livery. A new ceiling in the Great Hall had also been installed a short time before.
Comedian and Mock The Week host Dara O’Briain rated the venue as one of his top five favourite places to perform when he spoke about it on national radio.
January 2018- Councillor Ranjit Banwait announces plan for new venue
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Following a consultation, the Labour group decided to go-ahead with a £44 million 3,000 capacity music and performance venue, and a car park, with council tax going up an extra 1% to help pay for it.
A four-week consultation saw the music and performance venue emerge as the favourite option of four among the 1,006 people who responded, although no one option enjoyed majority support.
The performance venue was preferred by 43%, 28% opted for refurbishment of the current Assembly Rooms, which seated around 1,500 people, 22% favoured a lyric theatre and 7% wanted a hybrid option of the others.
The council decided to proceed with the Assembly Rooms replacement after previously securing £8.6 million from the D2N2 Local Enterprise and agreeing to borrow the remainder of the £35 million.
Mr Banwait said: “Through the consultation, we know that people are most likely to attend live music and comedy. We have taken this into account, together with the need for a flexible performance space.."
A planning application was not expected to be submitted until 2019. The demolition of the existing building and construction of the new one was due to start in 2020 with an expected opening date of 2022-23.
May 2018 - Support for refurbishment
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After Labour lost its majority in May's local elections, the Conservatives took over with the support of Lib Dem and UKIP councillors, who announced that refurbishing the venue and getting it open as soon as possible was a priority for all of them.
This had been further supported earlier in the year when Matt Hancock, then Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, looked around the venue with city Tory leader Councillor Matt Holmes, almost four years to the day it closed following a fire in a rooftop car park.
Mr Hancock said he was surprised to see the place looking as if people had just put down their glasses and left, even though it was four years ago.
He said: “The place is in good condition and I can see the big attraction of refurbishing and repairing it and I fully support the city’s Conservative councillors who want to do that. It seems the best use of money and time.
"There is already £8.6 million grant money on the table to put towards refurbishing and this could mean the city having an entertainment venue back up and working in far less time and for far less money.
“It would mean the council would not have to borrow £35 million to build a new Assembly Rooms and also it would not have to put up council tax, like it has, to make the loan repayments."
The council cabinet, headed by leader Councillor Chris Poulter, asked officers to investigate the scope and cost of renewing the Assembly Rooms and external consultancy was appointed. It took place between July and November.
December 2018 - New Assembly Rooms plans revealed
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A £24 million plan to renew and enhance the building and its car park was announced ahead of seeking cabinet approval for the project - with no borrowing involved Plans to bulldoze and rebuild the venue had been scrapped in favour of a scheme to refurbish it by autumn 2020.
The basic work would have seen a new plant room installed on the roof of the Assembly Rooms car park and some essential re-wiring of the building, new stage lighting, audio and video equipment, improved internal decorations, repairs to the building and the removal of asbestos.
The extra enhancement work also included creating creating six new St Pancras station-styled frontages to the current Ask Italian restaurant, the former police office and the Tourist Information Office, removal of the concrete fins to give a clearer view from the New Assembly Rooms, enlarged lobby, improved lounge areas, extensive improvements to the Darwin Suite and new seating and toilets throughout the building.
May 2019 - New designs for former Assembly Rooms revealed
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The public get the chance to comment on the refurbishment plans and also suggest a new name for the venue
The plans were on display in the Guildhall and it was anticipated work would start later that year and be completed in 2021, after a planning application was lodged in June 2019. The go-ahead for planning was given in November and works started to remove asbestos from the building.
January 2020 - all stop
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Signs that things were not going to plan started when a new manager for the £24 million Assembly Rooms refurbishment was appointed after "significant shortcomings" were discovered by an independent consultant, including a slipped timescale.
Then came the announcement that costs had increased to around £30m and it is no longer viable to refurbish and the plug was pulled on the project.
Council leader Chris Poulter said: "We now feel it is time to stop the project, take stock and assess whether the development still offers Derby tax payers the best possible value for money.
"We will conduct an in-depth evaluation of this new information and the projected costs against the agreed £24 million maximum budget to scrutinise the reasons for these increased costs and look at our next steps and options going forward."
July 2020 - is this the final plan?
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Derby City Council proposed to put a new performance venue in Becketwell and demolish the 40-year-old Assembly rooms in the next 18 months. The 3,500 capacity £45 million performance venue would be located on the site of the former Pink Coconut nightclub.
It was described as being b "a fully flexible space, capable of staging shows, comedy acts, bands and conferences, with secondary space of up to 400 capacity and is scheduled for completion in 2024".
It will offer a significantly larger a more flexible space than the city has had in the past. The Assembly Rooms held 1,700 people. The venue is intended to appeal to a wider range of audiences in a purpose-built setting run by a nationally-respected operator.
The project is being delivered by St James Securities at a fixed priced to the council with the developer securing a national operator as tenant for at least 25 years, reducing the financial risk to the council.
The operator is expected to pay at least £500,000 a year to the council, which already has £10 million set aside to build the venue and says it will undertake public sector borrowing for the remainder of the money.
It is anticipated that the venue will hold hundreds of cultural and commercial events each year offering a varied programme for local people and attract an additional quarter of a million visitors to Derby and over 200 new local jobs are expected to be created giving the city centre economy a significant boost. The scheme is set to generate more than £10m per year for the area and attract up to 250,000 customers.
April 2021 - is this the beginning of the end for the Assembly Rooms?
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City councillors voted to take the next step which could see Derby's Assembly Rooms demolished in the next five years after a planning application to demolish was submitted.
They agreed that the planning application to demolish the Assembly Rooms should be referred to the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, accompanied by a resolution that the planning control committee plans to grant permission to demolish. After a month, the Government said it would not interfere with any local decision that has been made to demolish the city's Assembly Rooms.
Campaign groups hoping to save the 1970s Brutalist building had hoped that Government intervention could have halted the council's application to knock it down.
Conditions say the building cannot be demolished until an alternative plan is in place. That process has been given up to five years from 2021.
September 2021 - alternative plan put forward for the site
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A plan to relocate Derby Theatre from its current home in the Derbion shopping centre to the city's Market Place was put forward by Derby City Council and the University of Derby, which owns the theatre.
The project would increase theatre attendance by 83,000 and attract an additional 25,000 visitors to Derby each year. It would also generate a net additional £1.7m per year for the local economy. It would also give 123 graduate and post-graduate students a base at the theatre, up from 49 at present. It would only require 40% of the cleared Assembly Rooms site.
A bid for £20 million funding was put forward to the Government's Levelling Up Fund in 2022.
January 2023 - the clock is ticking for the building
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The city is given £20 million for a new learning theatre in the Market Place and if planning permission is given for the project then the Assembly Rooms will be demolished.
But with the the leader of Derby City Council confirming that the final cost could be in excess of £60 million, people are wondering where the money will come from and if it will ever happen.
Councillor Chris Poulter said: "The cost of the new theatre has still to be finalised but a starting point would probably be around £60 million but that is without inflation and other costs linked to construction such as materials. The money for the demolition of the Assembly Rooms is already in the bank and accounted for.
"We will be talking to partners involved in the project such as the university and also the Arts Council to get the rest of the funding in place. We have until 2025 to spend the money. So we need to start sooner rather than later on progressing the project."
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan visited Derby just hours after the city had been told it was successful in applying for funding and said: "It is a significant investment of taxpayers' money. In fact it was one of the largest bids that were successful. It's a significant proportion of the money needed. Others contribute to the total and although it is not the entire pot and I think that is the right approach because this is about a collaboration."
Supporters of the Assembly Rooms have vowed to keep fighting to save the building and the latest petition containing more than 2,000 names has been handed to the city council this week.
March 2024 - the end is finally in sight
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The city council announced that the Assembly Rooms demolition will start later in 2024, ending years of speculation over its future and bringing to a close its 47-year history.
In its place, there will be an a office block, commercial and restaurant outlets and a regenerated Market Place. VINCI Developments UK and ION Developments have been announced as the preferred development partners for the redevelopment of the Assembly Rooms site.
