DERBY HIPPODROME

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Christopher Anthony has put in a formal application for Listed Building Consent to demolish the Hippodrome. A judge offered Mr Anthony the chance to hold further talks outside the court with officials from Derby City Council over the future of the Grade II listed Hippodrome. Both declined, with the court in London being told each side has "very different views" on what to do. Mr Anthony says the Hippodrome is in a dangerous condition, and needs to be demolished. His legal team told the hearing the council had never carried out proper inspections to determine the state of the building, and now no-one could get access because it was in a dangerous state.

The court was told he had now submitted a formal application to be given Listed Building Consent to demolish the theatre but in its submission, the council said that work to repair the Hippodrome, which it had ordered, had begun without its permission. A council spokesman confirmed the application to demolish the building had been received. Earlier, it was revealed Mr Anthony offered to sell the building to the council. He said he made the suggestion to officials after surveys by his experts found it was in a poor state of repair but the council says the offer was never put in writing, so it was taken no further. Mr Anthony criticised the council, saying if it had been so concerned about the building, it would have accepted his offer to buy it.

A spokeswoman for the council said, "It was stated then that there was no-one from the council who could enter into those sorts of discussions and asked for the offer to be made in writing. To date, no offer has been received." Members of Derby New Theatre Company said they had shown interest in buying the building but Mr Anthony had not responded to their requests. Keith Briars of the amateur theatre group, who got planning permission to turn the old bingo hall back into a theatre, said he twice wrote to Mr Anthony last year. Mr Anthony denied receiving an offer to buy the building. The group said it had wanted the council to buy the building and use its powers to place a compulsory purchase order on the property.

Mr Briars said the council had told him that would have been too costly and time-consuming and had also raised concerns about missing original plasterwork. He said, "It was very clear that at least some of the damage had been deliberate. The first two rows of chairs in the balcony had been removed. It seemed to us that this had been done to make the job of removing the front of the circle easier." Mr Anthony said the plasterwork had been damaged due to the poor state of the building, adding, "Last summer, part of the roof caved in and, when it did, it took out plasterwork and a big beam fell right through the middle and hit the balcony." He also claimed he had spent £100,000 removing asbestos.

As well as the theatre group, a mystery Derby benefactor also wrote to Mr Anthony with an offer to buy the building in February. The man's solicitor, Ian Griffiths, of Moody and Woolley, said the sum offered was substantially more than the £375,000 Mr Anthony paid in May 2007. Mr Griffiths said that the offer was rejected. He said, "He asked for more money because he said he had done work on the building since then. I was then approached by his representative, George Thomas, who asked who my client was. When I said I couldn't reveal that without his consent, he slammed down the phone. Mr Anthony said he'd be in a position to discuss an offer should the mystery man make himself available to us." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/08)

A court has halted the demolition of a the Hippodrome for the time being. The city council had asked the High Court to protect the derelict building, while its owner had said the structure was unsafe. The council said it did not want Mr Anthony to carry out further work and sought an injunction to stop him. A judge has ruled that apart from vital maintenance and the removal of asbestos no further work will be allowed. The judge ordered that an asbestos stage curtain be removed and ordered the council and Mr Anthony to agree the method this should be done to prevent unnecessary damage to the building. If that agreement can not be reached, both parties will have to go back to court.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams said, "It is obvious that Mr Anthony intends to demolish substantial parts of what remains of the building at the very least. In the absence of an injunction, therefore, the building will very soon cease to exist in any meaningful sense and the prospects of renovation, repair and refurbishment will in reality be lost for all time. In my judgement, Mr Anthony has failed to establish that there is currently a substantial risk of collapse." Mr Williams also ordered Mr Anthony to pay the council £20,000 in legal costs. A spokesman for the city council said they would be closely monitoring the situation, including the application to clear the site.

Richard Williams, assistant director of regeneration at the council said, "We will take the lead on the removal of the curtain and agree the method with Mr Anthony, which we will do as quickly as we can. We will then serve an urgent works notice on Mr Anthony describing the works we feel he should carry out. That includes carefully removing loose brickwork using appropriate machinery. Any work has to be agreed in advance with the council with a written method statement agreed by us and we have to be on site at all times." The council also said it was investigating the circumstances of the damage to the building in March.

The Theatres Trust was present at the granting of the High Court injunction. Director Mhora Samuel said, “I am delighted that Derby City Council has won this injunction. It’s the best possible outcome for the Hippodrome at this time and it’s what we hoped for. There has been such public support for the injunction. Our next step will be to make the case to the Council to refuse the Listed Building Application from the owner to demolish the theatre.” (Source: BBC News, Apr/08)

The city council is considering putting forward plans for an enforcement notice which would force the owner of the Hippodrome to repair the building. If granted, owner Christopher Anthony would have to repair the building, probably to the standard it was when he bought it. If the decision is taken to serve the enforcement notice, it will still mean a few more months will pass before action will be taken against the owner.

If Mr Anthony did not comply with the notice in a reasonable time he could face an unlimited fine if convicted in a Crown Court. But if the committee grants the enforcement notice, Mr Anthony could appeal, which would lead to a public inquiry, delaying any work on the site. In the meantime, the council will weather-proof the former theatre in Green Lane. The work will include supporting beams inside the Grade II-listed building.

A mobile platform will be in place in Green Lane and Macklin Street and will be used to get to the roof, so that missing slates can be replaced and door and window openings secured. Blocked gutters will also be cleared. The council will carry out the work under an Urgent Works Notice, which will mean it will get the cost of it back from Mr Anthony. Legally, the council cannot carry out work not deemed urgent and which it has not given Mr Anthony a reasonable time to do himself. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/08)

Amateur theatre groups have released a painting of how the Hippodrome theatre could look if restored to its former glory. Derby New Theatre Association wanted it to be used by amateur groups and submitted a planning application, before the damage in March, for the former bingo hall to be reopened as a theatre, but did not have the money to do the work itself. Now the group, representing amateur groups, has revealed how the building could look if it was restored.

Treasurer Tony Jaggers said, "We are delighted that the council is continuing to take a robust stance against Mr Anthony's failure to protect this historic building. Our association was the first to raise concerns about the state of the Hippodrome when it was a bingo hall and after it closed." The group commissioned the painting by artist Carolyn Hardy in an attempt to stop people writing off the building as an eyesore.

Mr Jaggers said, "It shows that, with proper care and a sympathetic development of the area round the building, the whole area could be a real asset to the city." And he said repairing the building would have a positive impact on the wider city. He added, "The restoration would be an exciting project which could kick-start the regeneration of the Becketwell and Lanes areas." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Sep/08)