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Plans go in for £48m Derby arena
Construction & Build
Developer St James Securities has submitted a full planning application to Derby City Council for a new 3,500 capacity entertainment and events venue at Becketwell.
The £48m venue will be located on the site of the former Pink Coconut nightclub and Laurie House offices at the heart of the wider mixed-use Becketwell development.
The purpose-built venue will be a fully flexible, scalable space capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, conferences, and exhibitions.
The main auditorium will have a maximum capacity of 3,500 and offer a range of different event configurations including a fully seated layout for up to 2,100.
Subject to planning consent being granted at a meeting in October, construction is set to start in early 2022, with handover to the operator in 2024.
The new performance venue will be owned by Derby City Council and run by operator ASM Global.
Oliver Quarmby, managing director of St James Securities, said: “A new large-scale venue is a key component of Derby’s masterplan for the city centre which has been developed collaboratively between the public and private sectors and we are tremendously excited to be working on this ambitious scheme to bring an outstanding, modern performance venue to the city.
“We have created a great scheme which will fill a significant gap in the city’s cultural landscape. This flexible venue will cater for major music and comedy acts as well as theatre content. The conference and events capability will support the growth of the region’s business community.
“The performance venue is set to ‘turbocharge’ the entire Becketwell scheme, allowing us to bring forward a new multi-storey car park and hotel and will be key to the future reinvigoration and repositioning of Derby city centre.”
Work is already underway on the £30m phase one of the scheme, which includes the construction of 259 build to rent apartments by GMI Construction.
Future planned phases of the scheme include up to 25,000 sq. m of new grade A offices and commercial space, a hotel and a multi-storey car park.
Written by Grant Prior - Construction Enquirer