A £100 million redevelopment of Derby’s Market Place to replace the Assembly Rooms has got the go-ahead.
Derby City Council submitted major plans to redevelop the city centre area with new buildings and public open space.
The approval at a Derby planning meeting on Thursday (16 July) moves the replacement of the Assembly Rooms forward, following a long period of uncertainty. It has stood empty for more than a decade after a fire.
The demolition of the Assembly Rooms had already been approved, subject to conditions.
The outline application for consideration focused solely on the creation of a new mixed-use building, new office space and a four-star hotel, once the former entertainment venue is demolished.
The council’s Labour leadership group has been keen to push forward the regeneration plans, with council leader Nadine Peatfield previously stating that she wanted work to start as soon as possible.
Council bosses told the meeting there would still be further hurdles to overcome before the demolition of the Assembly Rooms could actually start.
A decision on the outline plans was expected at a planning meeting in May, but a slender majority of councillors wanted to defer the item after raising design concerns.
It was heard at Thursday’s meeting that behind-the-scenes talks between the developers and councillors were “really helpful”, and tweaks were made to the design in response to those conversations.
Councillor Martin Rawson said: “I really like these proposals. Attractive shops and cafés will draw people to the area, and that’s what it needs.
“It is sorely needed. The Assembly Rooms have been rotting for 10 years – we need to grasp the nettle and bring this part of the city centre back to life.”
Councillor Lucy Care, who was chairing the meeting, said: “I see no reason for a further deferral.”
However, Councillor Matthew Holmes said he had concerns regarding the project as a whole.
The Mickleover councillor said: “You can never have no risk, but this does carry risk.
“Things can go wrong, such as a pandemic, war or supply issues. The phasing of the development does concern me. There are a lot of cogs in this machine.”
A large majority of councillors approved the application. There were no refusals.
It was heard that a petition was sent to the council ahead of the meeting, titled “Stop Derby’s Assembly Rooms plan before they waste £60m of taxpayers’ cash”.
The petition had 1,661 signatures.
However, Head of Planning Paul Clarke told councillors the petition was “outside the remit” of the planning committee to consider, as it was mainly related to the costs associated with the project.
Mr Clarke said it is not for the planning committee to consider a business case or funding model, and that it is a matter for the council’s cabinet to have regard to.
By Nigel Slater, Local Democracy Reporter