Plans have been revealed for a new venue in Derby which may contain a theatre and will be a “game changer”, according to the city council.
At the same time, broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg has described Derby as "culturally empty” and said it should learn from cities that have benefited from arts investment.
Derby City Council has come up with two options for the replacement for the 1,200-seat Assembly Rooms which has been out of action since a huge fire on the top floor of its car park in March 2014.
City Council deputy leader Martin Rawson said, “the performance venue will be a game changer for the city centre from several perspectives.
“From the entertainment side, it will attract some of the biggest headliners which in turn will attract close to 300,000 people each year to Derby.”
The authority consulted “six of the UK’s largest and most successful entertainment management companies”. Four of them expressed an interest in operating a new performance venue.
The first option was for a 3,000-seat flexible venue focusing on live music and comedy. The second option was for a space that could be arranged either as a 2,800-seat auditorium for music and entertainment or could be converted to a 1,600-seat theatre. Both options would be self-funding, requiring no council subsidies.
The plan is to award a management contract well before construction starts so that the operator would be involved in determining the design and configuration of the venue.
Demolition of the old Assembly Rooms will take up to 12 months. It may take until 2020 for the council to secure funding, appoint an operator, design the building and construct it.
Meanwhile, speaking on BBC Radio Derby, Lord Bragg said Derby should look to cities such as Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow.
“World-class industries like [Derby-based] Rolls-Royce and Toyota have people from all over the world to look at their factories, then go into Derby and discover it's like no other comparable city in Europe," he said.
“You don't find that level of cultural emptiness in any German, French, Spanish or Portuguese city."