Owner threatens total demolition of Derby Hippodrome

Published Wednesday 2 April 2008 at 12:15 by Alistair Smith

Derby Hippodrome is facing total destruction after the building’s owners claimed the venue poses a threat to public safety and would have to be completely demolished.

The Grade II-listed building suffered extensive damage last Friday when, according to the Theatres Trust, the building’s owner Christopher Anthony undertook work on the venue “under the pretext” of carrying out essential repairs following a fire in February.

That work, which was allegedly undertaken using inappropriate machinery, caused the destruction of large parts of the building. Structural metal beams supporting the roof were removed, destabilising the whole building, while the side walls of the venue were destroyed, along with the stage house and flytower.

Now, according to Derby City Council, it has been presented with a report by the owner’s structural engineer, claiming that the entire premises must be demolished in the interest of public safety.

The council’s chief legal officer Stuart Leslie commented: “Late [yesterday] afternoon we were told by the Hippodrome owner’s barrister that they had just received a report from the structural engineer they commissioned to carry out an inspection of the premises. The report allegedly says that the Hippodrome is an immediate danger to the public and must be demolished without delay. As a consequence, the council is taking immediate action to try and obtain a court injunction to prevent any further demolition. We are trying to get a hearing before a judge [today].”

Earlier this year, a fire broke out at the building, causing some damage to the historic theatre, which has most recently been used as a bingo hall. As a result of the fire, the local council served a repairs notice on the building’s owner, demanding that he undertake immediate repairs on the protected building. While the fire itself is understood to have only caused minimal damage, the effect of the ‘repairs’ were serious.

According to Derby-based structural engineer Peter Steer, who has overseen repair work on similar historic buildings in the past, the machinery employed by the building’s owner was completely inappropriate. He also claimed that the council should have done more to prevent the initial damage.

He told The Stage: “I just cannot understand how anyone from the council could just stand and watch all these machines and think they could do a delicate repair on the roof of this building.”

The contractors, hired to undertake the repairs on the building, were called AB Demolition and employed a “bucket excavator” and a “nibbler” to work on the theatre - two machines which Steer claims were completely unsuitable to carry out repair work on the site.

He said that it was “a reflection on the competence” of the council that the unsuitability of this equipment was not recognised.

“As a matter of urgency, the perimeter walls of the auditorium and stage should be shored externally and the walls tied to the shoring, thus eliminating the need for internal support,” he added.

“In my opinion this work should start before April 4. The shoring of external walls is an imperative action, it should have been done before any work commenced. These works cannot be done on the cheap. They must be done properly under professional supervision.”

A spokesperson for the city council denied that it was at fault for the damage. She added: “The developer submitted a method statement to us, but we hadn’t signed it off. They started work on the building before we had signed it off. We were on site at the agreed time, but they had already started work. We think they started at around 10am and we were due at 10.30am.”

“What needs to be done is being investigated. Prosecution is a possibility. We have every intention of getting the owner to rebuild the theatre and bring it back into use.”

The Theatres Trust has said it is “shocked” and “very concerned” by the turn of events. Officials at the organisation also highlighted the fact that failure to obtain consent for works or demolition of a listed building is a criminal offence.

Trust director Mhora Samuel added that the destruction already caused was “unprecedented in the history of listed theatres”.

She said: “We will be meeting with senior members of Derby City Council on Wednesday to discuss the actions that need to be taken. The council is able to issue an enforcement notice to rebuild the theatre and prosecute those responsible.”

The Stage was unable to contact the building’s owner for comment.