Derby Assembly Rooms becomes a construction site

Derby's Assembly Rooms has become a construction site ahead of its demolition. Image by LDRS.

Derby’s Assembly Rooms has become a construction site – just weeks after its demolition was fully approved.

Wired fencing has been installed around the Market Place building with signage staying “construction site” and “keep out”.

Machinery has also been placed next to the abandoned building near to the Nando’s restaurant.

Derby City Council has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the site is being prepared for demolition.

The building has stood empty since a serious fire took place more than 10 years ago.

But it will be replaced by a new £100 million regeneration scheme featuring a new multi-use building, a four-star hotel, offices and public realm space.

The multi-use building will be used as a conference centre, music venue and will include a library, working space and a rooftop bar.

Planning permission for the council-led regeneration scheme had already been approved by the council’s planning committee in July.

A majority of councillors voted to discharge a planning condition in place at a meeting on September 3rd, paving the way for bulldozing to begin.

The crucial vote happened after the Labour-led council completed a ‘Master Development Agreement’ deal with ION Property Developments Limited to deliver the Market Place transformation.

Council leader, Councillor Nadine Peatfield, said demolition work would begin in the new year.

She said: “Finally, this was the milestone that needed to be in place to pave the way for us to begin transforming the Market Place and breathe new life into this vital area of the city centre.

“Now the planning conditions have been satisfied, we will continue to work with our development partners to take these plans forward, with residents being able to see tangible progress on site in early 2027.”

The council said preparing the site, disconnecting utilities and creating a secure working environment will take a number of weeks before the building can start to come down.

The council estimates the demolition could take up to 12 months but Cllr Peatfield hopes it can be completed sooner.

The planning meeting earlier this month saw councillors in favour of discharging a condition which was placed to ensure the Assembly Rooms was not demolished in isolation.

This was to avoid the prospect of having a huge vacant space being left empty for some time with nothing in place to replace it.

At the meeting, Labour Cllr Martin Rawson said: “This agreement as I understand it gives us the best possible chance of making sure we move forward as quickly as possible and to get something that the people of Derby can be proud of.”

However, councillors Lucy Care and Tim Prosser – both members of the council’s planning committee – have raised concerns over the funding for the Market Place regeneration.

Cllr Care said at the September 3rd meeting: “It still isn’t certain to my knowledge where all the funding will come from to deliver this”.

Cllr Prosser said after the meeting: “I really want positive action and a resolution to this problem. However, throwing money in the air and hoping something fantastic will land will create a much bigger headache than the city should bear.”