Latest News | 20 July 2021
£20m bid submitted to help fund Becketwell performance venue
Derby City Council has submitted a £20 million bid to the Government to help fund the proposed new Becketwell performance venue.
The council has applied to the Levelling Up Fund for the cash and, if successful, the funding would contribute to the delivery of the 3,500-capacity venue, right in the heart of the city.
At the recent Derby Property Summit, Paul Morris, director of St James Securities, which is delivering the £200 million regeneration of Becketwell, revealed that a planning application for the performance venue would be submitted later this week.
Commenting on the bid, Councillor Matthew Holmes, deputy leader at Derby City Council, said: “We are fully committed to delivering the new venue as part of the Derby recovery plan and the city’s cultural ambitions.
“This venue will help level up the city and enable us to build back better by diversifying our economy and attracting more people into the city centre.”
Hosting more than 200 events and attracting an additional 250,000 visitors each year, it is hoped the new venue will help diversify the city’s economy and increase investor confidence.
It is anticipated the project will create 200 new local jobs and generate more than £10 million per year for the area, giving the city centre economy a significant boost.
It will be a fully flexible, scalable space, capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, conferences, and exhibitions.
It will feature a 3,500-capacity events auditorium and a smaller 400 capacity secondary space to enable Derby to attract a range of exciting events.
St James’s Securities will deliver the state-of-the-art venue, which will be owned by Derby City Council and operated by world-leading operators ASM Global.
Work on the venue is expected to start early next year and handed over in 2024.
