Derby shoppers full of hope for Assembly Rooms future

Assembly Rooms has been closed since a fire caused major damage in 2014

Derby's Assembly Rooms has split opinions over the years, with people either loving it or hating it.

Derby City Council said the venue would be demolished for a new multi-purpose development.

The site will contain leisure, commercial and community facilities.

BBC News has been out into the city to ask the public their thoughts of the proposed plans and their opinions on the current venue that is still standing.

An artist's impression shows how the Market Place could look

David Elliott, 73, said: "It looks very nice, but it's all about how long it can be sustained for once it's built, as we don't want it to look run down in a few years' time.

"Derby is not what it used to be by any means, but anything new like this is promising and positive, and is what Derby really needs."

Mr Gayle said "anything that brings footfall to this end of the city is a good thing"

Chris Gayle, from Belper, hopes the development will draw people away from the city's Derbion shopping centre, which he labelled a "monstrosity".

"I think it is brilliant as this area of Derby has so much potential," he said.

"I would hope that this new site would draw people from the monstrosity at the other end of the city, that hideous thing of a shopping centre."

The Assembly Rooms has been closed since a major fire in 2014.

Initial plans to demolish the venue and build a new theatre were scrapped last year. The latest plans will, according to the proposals, create a new "cultural heart" for the city centre.

Ms Cushley hopes the new space will be accessible for disabled people to use

Sherley Cushley, 66, said the new site would be a great social venue for young and old to enjoy.

"I think it's a much better idea than what we have got, as more people will be able to take advantage of the site," she said.

"Hopefully it will be a new social space for the youth and people like me who don't get out much and that has a disability."

John Rawlings, 77, from Spondon, said he would raise a glass at the pub when the Assembly Rooms was demolished.

"I hope it's better than what they've got now," he said. "It should never have been built in the first place - it's an eyesore.

"I'll come down to the pub and have a drink watching it be pulled down and raise a glass to it.

"It's a shame Derby has been ruined as so much of it has been knocked down, I'm not a fan of the plan but it's better than what there is now."

The main structural demolition of the building is scheduled to start in the autumn, the council said.