Homeless site sale could boost huge Becketwell events venue
CASH WILL FUND HOME IMPROVEMENTS AND TRAVEL
COUNCILLORS are to be asked to approve funding and a proposal to acquire a homeless charity property so that progress can be made on plans to build a £45 million performance venue in Derby.
Two reports are going to next Wednesday’s council cabinet, which relate to the performance venue project in the Becketwell area of the city.
The first outlines the need for the council to acquire the centre leased by the Padley Group but owned by Metropolitan Thames Valley in Becket Street, as part of the Becketwell regeneration site. And also to acquire a warehouse owned by the Padley Group in the same street.
This will involve approving a grant to the Padley Group, to allow the charity to find alternative premises, and also a loan – both amounts are not in the public domain.
The charity also wants to have a 12-month option agreement that will enable new residential accommodation for homeless people to be found and run by Derby Homes by the end of 2021, so that the transition from one to the other is seamless.
The second report to the cabinet gives a general update on the progress of the new performance venue, pointing out the first report and the efforts involved in acquiring the Becket Street locations “to complete the land assembly required for the performance venue”.
Approval for funding for the 3,500 capacity performance venue was originally given by the council cabinet last July and the second report notes that the capital costs remain “within the parameters set at the meeting”. Last year at the same meeting, £443,000 was approved towards project management and professional services which are estimated at £855,000 in total - now councillors are being asked to approve the remaining £412,000 cost next Wednesday.
The second report also says that an operator for the venue, who will be involved in the design work and will lease the place from the council ultimately, has been identified following a bid process which ended on February 19.
Once the operator is appointed, talks will begin about the new venue and Derby Arena and how they can be complementary and not in competition with each other with a “revised operating model” for Derby Arena.
According to the report, Derby Arena will “continue to provide a cultural and entertainment events programme, while the Becketwell venue is developed”.
The proposed Becketwell performance venue plan has been devised by the council working with St James Securities, which has been working to develop the former Duckworth Square site into an area for shops, offices and apartments.
The new entertainment and conference venue would be located on the site of the former Pink Coconut nightclub. It will be 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 project will be delivered by St James Securities at a fixed priced to the council with the developer securing the 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. 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.
The new venue at Becketwell will be in addition to plans for a new public square, hotel, offices, and apartments already signed off by planners earlier this year.
The future of the Assembly Rooms in the Market Place has still to be decided after the council submitted a planning application to demolish the 1970s Brutaliststyle building, which has been closed since 2014 following a fire in the plant room of the adjacent car park.
Opposition, including from national architecture and heritage experts, has grown and it is believed that the application will be discussed at an April meeting of the city’s planning control committee.
Next Wednesday’s council cabinet meeting will take place virtually and can be accessed on the city council’s YouTube channel from 4pm.
The operator is expected to pay £500k a year to the council, which has £10 million set aside to build the venue
RESIDENTS in a Derbyshire village have picked up combined winnings of £180,000 in the Postcode Lottery.
Six people in West Hallam started their day in style after gaining £30,000 each when their postcode was chosen at random.
One couple, 60-year-old Glyn Swift and his wife, 62-year-old Gaye, will take home a combined £60,000, after both signed up to the draw.
Glyn, who works in the railway industry, was on a break from work when he found out he’d won during a video call with lottery ambassador Judie McCourt.
On seeing his cheque, Glyn said: “That’s incredible. What can I say? I’m a little bit speechless.
“Gaye plays too which makes it even nicer. She’s in the travel industry and was made redundant just before Christmas so this has come at a great time.”
The pair had recently moved home, but luckily continued to play using their old postcode, meaning they were still part of the winning draw.
Glyn said: “We moved in November and I didn’t want to cancel. I can see that was with good reason now.
“We’re planning lots of things for our new house, including an extension, so the money will go towards that. We’re both nearing retirement age too. This means we’ve got a little nest egg now.
“We’re not generally very lucky, never in a million years did I expect this to happen.”
As well as pushing on with home improvements, the couple said they are planning to use the money to take the trip of a lifetime. Gaye said: “If we can then we’d love to get to
New Zealand and the South Pacific. It’s something we’ve always talked about.
“I didn’t dare to believe that this would ever happen. You always hope the lottery will come your way but never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
David Swan, 60, who works as a general manager at a distribution centre, also won £30,000.
When his cheque was revealed,
David was taken aback and said: “Wow, that’s great, really great.
“When you get the call you just don’t know what to expect, but that’s a wonderful amount of money. My heart is beating quite fast at the moment, I must admit.”
Like Glyn and Gaye, David is planning to split the cash between doing up his home and having some memorable experiences.
He said: “My wife Gill has been talking about some home improvements so I can see where a lot of it is going to go already. We’ve got two children and our granddaughter will be two in June so I want to share this out among them as well.
“I enjoy my sports and my travelling, so combining the two would be great at some point. I’d also love to see England play at Twickenham, I’m more of a football fan, but I do have a passion for English rugby so it would be great to see them play.”
David was pleased to have won alongside so many of his neighbours and added: “There’s a wonderful community here in West Hallam so it’s wonderful we can all share this. It’s great to know there’s others enjoying the same feeling I’m currently enjoying.”
The remaining winners chose to remain anonymous, but their cash prizes will be paid into their bank accounts.
People’s Postcode Lottery ambassador Judie McCourt said: “It was fantastic to deliver some good news to Glyn, Gaye and David and hear their plans for their winnings.
“A big congratulations to them and all our other lucky winners in West Hallam.”
THE family of Sarah Moore, who tragically took her own life, have been left heartbroken after flowers are believed to have been stolen from her grave.
Sarah’s body was found in Allestree Park on February 20, 2018, only a day after she had been released from the Radbourne Unit in Littleover, where she had been placed in a secure mental health unit.
Her parents went to visit her grave in Nottingham Road Cemetery, on Sunday, February 28, and discovered that flowers left by Sarah’s sister to mark the third anniversary of her death were missing.
Her father, Robert Moore, 64, believes they have been stolen.
He said this is the last thing the family needs as they try to process their grief and that he is “disgusted”.
“It was Sarah’s anniversary on Saturday, February 20, so we went up to the grave in the afternoon and took some flowers up,” Mr Moore said.
“We put a candle there and decided to go up again on the day after in case it had blown away.
“We saw there some more flowers there and my wife rang the other daughter and she said she had taken some flowers up on Sunday.”
Mr Moore said he first noticed something was wrong when he walked with his wife Diane to his daughter’s grave from their Oakwood home on Sunday, February 28. “We noticed it as soon as we got there at 3pm,” he said.
“We saw our flowers were still there in the vase, but somebody had taken the others our daughter put there, the spot was empty.” To begin with Mr and Mrs Moore began to search the surrounding area in case a cemetery worker had moved them. “We looked in the bins as we know the staff at the cemetery sometimes put them in there if they’ve died, but we couldn’t find them,” he said. “Besides, the ones we put there the same weekend were still fresh. “Plus we’ve seen the wreaths people laid for their loved ones over Christmas are still here, and they’re normally cleared after 12 days.”
He said he has come to the conclusion that they had been taken.
“We cannot see any reason why someone would chuck them out,” he said. “I think someone has stolen them, maybe to use them as a gift to someone else.
“We called our other daughter to tell her about it and she was shocked.”
Mr Moore said Sarah’s death has left a hole in the lives of her family, and this caused them more pain.
“She had nothing in life, that’s why we go up every Sunday, every week, to remember her,” he said. “She was very artistic and she loved making things.
“After three years, I’ve never recovered from it, I’ve never had a full night’s sleep. I’m appalled.”
I think someone has stolen them, maybe to use them as a gift to someone else.
Robert Moore