Durham Rocking Horse Rehearsal Rooms boss devastated at demolition plan

Richard Combstock (right) and his brother Neil (left) say their priority is to find an alternative site

A man who has invested his life savings creating a music rehearsal and recording space says he is "devastated" the building is to be demolished.

Richard Combstock opened the Rocking Horse Rehearsal Rooms in Durham City 12 years ago, after transforming the once dilapidated building he rents.

The landlord of the site has been granted planning permission to knock it down by the county council.

It wants to build industrial units and a car park on the Frankland Lane site.

Mr Combstock said: "I've spent my life savings building this place and it's everything to me, I have spent years investing in this and it's devastating to lose it."

A dilapidated building without power and plumbing was transformed into Rocking Horse studios

The building offers space for about 30-40 bands to rehearse every week, as well as recording music and hosting small practice gigs and drumming classes.

Dan Prested, a drumming teacher at the Rocking Horse for 10 years, said: "If this place is knocked down a large chunk of my income is under threat, as the nearest alternative places are in Newcastle and Darlington and that could make my teaching almost unviable as my students wouldn't want to travel there for lessons."

Stephen Reed, Durham County Council's planning development manager, said: "As the current buildings are unable to meet new government legislation around energy-efficiency, which comes into effect in April, the owner would be unable to grant, extend or renew existing tenancies from next year.

"Without redevelopment, the site would therefore become vacant."

The rehearsal space is the only one of its kind in the local community

Mr Combstock has been offered a future unit within the new development but said a move would be difficult.

He said: "There'd be problems moving the sound-proofed rooms, it's taken us nine years to sort it here and the landlord said they need to demolish this building before they build the new ones, so we wouldn't have any continuity or time to take it apart and reassemble it."

He added he was struggling to find alternative, affordable premises to move to.

Max Duffin, from Durham, who has been playing drums there for three years, was angry at plans to knock it down.

"This is the last place standing in the city to help young musicians and knocking it down to create car parking spaces is a joke, it's the end of culture here," he said.

The authority said it would support Rocking Horse find an alternative venue "given the importance of [its] cultural activities".