£20m of Levelling Up cash to be redirected to revamp theatres

Derby City Council has confirmed that £20 million of government cash awarded to help create a new learning theatre on the site of the former Assembly Rooms will now be used to spruce up two existing theatres in the city.

At the start of the year, it was announced that the city council, the University of Derby and Derby Theatre had successfully bid for the cash from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to create the learning theatre, called ‘Assemble’.

However, the city council has said that due to estimated costs, which have risen because of factors such as high inflation, interest rates and increased construction and borrowing costs, all three partners have decided not to proceed with the project, which has been deemed “unviable”.

Instead, the money will be equally divided between the Guildhall Theatre and Derby Theatre sites to revamp existing facilities, following approval from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Councillor Baggy Shanker, leader of Derby City Council, said: “This is a very positive outcome for the city. With the scheme we inherited for the former Assembly Rooms proving unviable, we could have faced the situation where we had to give £20 million of funding back to the Government.

“We will now work to find an alternative solution for the Assembly Rooms, which in my view and many others’, needs demolishing as soon as possible to enable a fresh start.”

At the time, it was estimated that the new learning theatre would have increased theatre attendance by 83,000 and attracted an additional 25,000 visitors to Derby each year, generating an additional £1.7 million per year for the local economy.

The Government had allocated the cash specifically for the Assemble project.

However, the partners involved in the project managed to persuade the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to accept a proposal to use the cash to breathe new life into the Guildhall Theatre and Derby Theatre.

Councillor Shanker said: “The financial landscape for local government means that we can no longer take on the risk of proceeding with schemes of this scale, which could put us in the same difficult situation affecting some other local authorities who have had to declare effective bankruptcy. I’m delighted that we can keep this investment in our city.”

The Guildhall Theatre has stood empty and unused since January 2019 after part of the ornate ceiling of the Grade II-listed building fell down.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, the city council’s cabinet member for city centre, regeneration, culture and tourism, said: “We will now look to use the Levelling Up funding to refurbish the Guildhall Theatre and bring a much-loved heritage building back into use.

“This versatile performance venue is a vital part of Derby’s cultural offering.

“Meanwhile, the council continues to progress the procurement of a strategic development partner to take forward the regeneration of several key sites in the city centre, with the former Assembly Rooms being the priority.

“We have received a number of tenders from interested developers which we will now take forward.”

Derby Theatre, which is owned by the University of Derby, is planning to use the Levelling Up cash to redevelop its theatre space and improve the audience experience.

Kathryn Mitchell, vice-chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “The University of Derby is delighted by the news that the city partnership has been successful in securing Levelling Up funds of £20 million to support cultural regeneration in the city.

“Derby Theatre, excited by this funding success, will now commence planning to use these funds to develop the theatre spaces within the city and enhance audience experiences.”