Derby's Assembly Rooms car park was closed following 'safety' advice

Derby City Council leader Nadine Peatfield has said the Assembly Rooms car park is closed following “safety” advice. The car park in Derby city centre has been closed since the end of September, leaving motorists having to find other places to park.

The car park closed on September 30 so the Assembly Rooms demolition works could properly start. But the Labour-led authority announced last month that the demolition of the Market Place building was on hold because of a planning condition matter.

There had been concerns among councillors as to how long the site would be empty for after demolition was complete. Following this the council said in a statement it would reorder development “which will mean that demolition and construction of the new site will take place consecutively."

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There are big plans to regenerate the Market Place area of the city centre. The council says the outline masterplan is “to create a new cultural quarter on the site, forming Derby’s cultural heart”.

This includes the creation of office space, as well as restaurant and commercial spaces. But it is not clear when exactly this will be built as there are still important hurdles to get through.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday (November 20) Derby City Council leader Nadine Peatfield was asked by Conservative councillor Matthew Holmes about the Assembly Rooms car park's closure. Cllr Peatfield said in response pre-demolition works started straight away after its closure.

Cllr Peatfield said at the meeting: “The Assembly Rooms car park at the end of the day is part of the same structure (of the main Assembly Rooms building) and equally has deteriorated over the lifetime of the premises with concrete and steel components exceeding their intended life-span.

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“In addition the multi-storey car park is not up to current modern practices with regards to vehicle weight, but all-in-all in terms of safety it was advised it was important it remain closed until we continue with our plans.”

The “safety” explanation surrounding the car park’s closure appears to be further information than what was announced publicly weeks ago. Earlier this month Cllr Peatfield said: "Having reviewed the options, it is not financially viable to re-open the car park."

Last month opposition councillors called for the car park to reopen. Councillor Steve Hassall, leader of the Conservative group on the city council, said at the time: "I would call on the council to now reopen the Assembly Rooms car park seeing that this delay will take us into the new year and that parking provision over Christmas will be vital to trade.”

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