Beautiful buildings standing empty in our city centre

DERBY has a number of beautiful buildings that are currently empty and either seeking occupiers or buyers.

Some might remember Berlins in Becket Street, later known as Aruba. This building has been unoccupied for around a decade and looks like it needs a little tender loving care as many weeds are growing around it.

Green Lane has a number of lovely buildings are crying out for someone to bring back to life. Close to the seriously dilapidated former Hippodrome theatre, Green Lane House, on the corner of St Peter’s Churchyard, has been lovingly renovated but has yet to find an occupier. It is being marketed by property agent Omeeto as a restaurant with space for a couple of retail units.

Further up Green Lane, the former Bar Diva, in the old Gower Street Church, construction work is being carried out to transform it into homes, it is understood.

The imposing former Derby School of Art, which housed the Metro Cinema in the 1990s, has long been empty and is on the market with property agent Innes England. Built in 1876 in Gothic style, It features large open areas and stained glass windows.

FThe former Money Shop, in Osmaston Road, may not impress many with its simple frontage, look up from The Spot and you will discover an attractive Art Deco building, albeit one that’s looking a little shabby.

Of course Derby’s largest empty building is the Assembly Rooms. It may not be to everybody’s taste but it is due to be replaced by a new £45 million performance venue in the Becketwell area of the city, where construction has already begun.

Gower Street Church which closed in the mid 1970s and was more recently Bar Diva, which closed in 2004, appears to be undergoing renovation work Former church hall Green Lane House at the corner of Green Lane and St Peter’s Churchyard, is being marketed as a restaurant

2 Becket Street is being marketed for offices, studio, café or laboratory use The former Berlins nightclub in Becket Street

The three-storey curved building constructed in 1937, formerly used as The Money Shop, in Osmaston Road, opposite The Spot

The Assembly Rooms is empty and set to be demolished, having been empty since a devastating fire in 2014

The former Derby School of Art, in Green Lane, was built in 1876. It was also the Metro cinema and is currently on the market

Grade II-listed 3 St Mary’s Gate, formerly home to law firm Robotham and Co, has been empty for a number of years

Former home of auction house SDL Graham Penny on the corner of St James’s Street and The Strand