Up to 5-year wait to tear down Assembly Rooms
...and the final decision could be left to this Government minister
IF permission is granted to demolish Derby’s Assembly Rooms it could be up to five years before it is torn down and a new development is started to take its place.
And the final decision whether or not to demolish could rest with the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick, if the matter is referred to him, as is being recommended by planning officers.
The application to demolish the city’s Assembly Rooms in the Market Place will finally come before the Derby City Council’s planning control committee next Thursday.
IF permission is granted to demolish Derby’s Assembly Rooms it could be up to five years before it is torn down and a new development is started to take its place.
And the final decision whether or not to demolish could rest with the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick, if the matter is referred to him, as is being recommended by planning officers.
The application to demolish the city’s Assembly Rooms in the Market Place will finally come before the city planning control committee next Thursday.
This comes after initially being submitted last July and the council pushing it back, after multiple objections and a petition were presented against the plan.
The officer report going to the committee notes the widespread interest the proposed demolition of the 43-year-old building has aroused.
It says: “The application has generated a range of detailed representations from people and organisations from across the country and I would recommend that these are given careful consideration.”
This has included objections from
a number of prominent architects because the building is an example of the Brutalist style favoured by Casson Conder.
Brutalism is a style that emerged in the 1950s and grew out of the early-20th century modernist movement. Brutalist buildings are characterised by their massive, monolithic and blocky appearance with a rigid geometric style and large-scale use of poured concrete.
The city’s Conservation Area Advisory Committee, the council’s built environment team and the national Twentieth Century Society have maintained their previous objections to the demolition, while Historic England has “serious concerns regarding the application on heritage grounds”.
The planning application also includes the demolition of the adjacent car park, in which a fire took place in the plant room on March 14, 2014, and led to the closure of the Assembly Rooms seven years ago.
The planning report concludes that “demolition is likely to be the first phase of redevelopment, but the proposal does not seek redevelopment, only demolition” and “does not provide any certainty in relation to the future permanent use of the site”.
It says: “The redevelopment of the existing buildings is strongly supported, in principle, but the absence of any definite proposals for a permanent replacement use of the site presents a risk that the site will remain vacant for a sustained period.
“The site of the proposal is too important historically and to the future role, function and health of the city centre to embark on demolition in isolation, without a degree of certainty about future permanent use of the site.”
The report says that the application has “generated strong commercial support from Marketing Derby and other interested parties”.
It concludes by saying: “There would be significant harm to the character, appearance and function of the Market Place, if planning permission were to be granted in isolation of any long-term redevelopment solution for this site.
“A condition precedent needs to be agreed with the applicant and the following has been duly agreed in writing - ‘no demolition works shall take place until a scheme for the comprehensive redevelopment of the site has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority and until that approved scheme is covered by a contract with an approved timeframe for its implementation.’
It also suggests that a five-year time frame for permission for an alternative plan for the Market Place would be an appropriate condition, if the application was granted.
If the Secretary of State does not want to consider the proposal, which also carries a resolution that councillors are minded to grant planning permission with conditions, the second part of the officer recommendation is to grant planning permission with conditions.
It is not known how long it will take the Secretary of State to decide if he wants to call it in or not, if the officer recommendation is accepted.
Currently, there are no plans at all in place for a future use of the space in the Market Place if the Assembly Rooms building is pulled down and so it could be some time before anything else is built.
Various plans for the venue have been put forward over the past few years, which include demolishing and building a new one in its place and, more recently, the current council administration had decided to refurbish it at a cost of £23 million.
But the plug was pulled on that plan earlier this year when it was realised that the work would cost in the region of £33.5 million instead.
Last July, the council announced it was planning to build an alternative performance venue, holding 3,500 people and costing £43 million, in the Becketwell area of the city, and wanted to demolish the Assembly Rooms within the next 18 months.
Derby Civic Society has also revealed that it intends to apply for the Assembly Rooms to have statutory listing, when a certificate of immunity expires next May.
The certificate was procured by the city council in 2016 and lasts for five years meaning it cannot be listed in that time.
The virtual planning meeting is on Thursday, April 8 from 6pm on the city council’s YouTube channel.
The site of the proposal is too important ... to embark on demolition in isolation.
Planning report