Planning application submitted for Becketwell performance venue

Developers St James Securities have submitted a full planning application to Derby City Council for a new 3,500 capacity entertainment and events venue at Becketwell.

The exciting new performance venue will be located on the site of the former Pink Coconut nightclub and Laurie House offices at the heart of the wider mixed-use Becketwell development.

The purpose-built venue will be a fully flexible, scalable space capable of staging concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, conferences, and exhibitions.

The main auditorium will have a maximum (seated and standing) capacity of 3,500 and offer a range of different event configurations including a fully seated layout for up to 2,100.

Along with a busy concert and entertainment programme, the venue will also attract a wide range of business events.

The venue is expected to be a significant attraction for Derby, adding a much-needed new cultural venue. It will offer a significantly larger, more flexible space than the city has had in the past and will collaborate with and complement the activities of Derby Arena to provide the best possible events programme for Derby.

The new performance venue will be owned by Derby City Council and run by world class operator ASM Global, the world’s leading provider of entertainment, sports, and exhibition experiences around the world.

It is anticipated the venue will host over 200 cultural and commercial events each year and attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby. It is also expected to create over 200 new local jobs, generate more than £10m per year for the area and increase levels of investment in surrounding areas of the city centre.

A virtual public consultation event held last month demonstrated overwhelming support for the proposed new performance venue. 93% of respondents agreed that Derby needs a new concert and entertainment centre, 91% agreed it will benefit other city centre businesses and 85% agreed the city needs a new conference and exhibition venue.
The planning application is set to be considered at the October meeting of the Derby City Council planning committee and will be accompanied by a range of technical documents covering matters such as traffic generation and car parking, noise, flood risk and ecology.

Subject to planning consent being granted, work on the performance venue is set to commence in early 2022, with handover to the operator in 2024.

Work is already underway on phase one of the scheme, which includes the construction of 259 build to rent apartments on the site of the former Debenhams store on Victoria Street and a new public square, with completion by Spring 2023.

Future planned phases of the scheme include a range of other complementary uses of the site including up to 25,000 sq. m of new grade A offices and commercial space, a hotel and a multi-storey car park.