Redesigned fire escapes at music venue approved

HMV Empire is due to host gigs by Fatboy Slim, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Enemy

Plans to install redesigned temporary fire escapes at a Coventry music venue have been approved by the city council.

The fire escapes at HMV Empire, on Hertford Street, were demolished last month, as part of a major city centre redevelopment.

A planning agent had suggested the venue's future would be "at risk" if a revised proposal concerning amendments to the venue's stairways, received by the council on 10 September, was not quickly approved.

Coventry City Council issued a decision notice on 17 September confirming the changes could go ahead.

A plan for two temporary stairways was approved in February but, in a letter to the council dated 10 September, planning agent Les Greenwood said "extra costs and loss of revenue" were mounting up quickly.

The Empire had submitted a revised proposal as a non-material amendment to its original planning permission to the temporary fire escape staircases.

The council's decision states that the proposed changes "would not constitute a material change or departure" from the approved plans, therefore a new planning application was not needed.

The venue was due to hold a Jake Bugg gig on 11 September but this was moved to Coventry Cathedral due to safety concerns.

A Sophie Ellis-Bextor show was also postponed from 14 September to a new date of 16 October.

Coventry City Council said it would not be providing a statement.