Theatre News

Questions raised over ‘devastating’ demolition of ‘irreplaceable’ Derby Hippodrome

The sudden demolition comes following another recent fire

| Derby |

19 May 2025

derbs — Derby Hippodrome (pre-demolition), JHMcGloin, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Theatres Trust has issued a statement expressing their “devastation” following the part-demolition of the Derby Hippodrome.

The 110-year old venue, which has been a longstanding member of the Trust’s “Theatres at Risk” register, was partly destroyed following “emergency planning powers” granted by Derby City Council. They come following a recent fire started at the venue on Friday (said to be the third in recent weeks).

According to the BBC, the demolition of the Grade II-listed venue was ordered over “concerns about the safety of the property”, with the fire confirmed as being caused by arson.

The Theatres Trust’s CEO Joshua McTaggart has questioned the decision-making from the council, saying: “While we understand that there are safety issues with the building following the third fire in recent weeks, we share concerns of Historic England and local campaign groups including Derby Hippodrome Restoration Trust, Derby Civic Society, and Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust about the decision-making process that led to demolition commencing so quickly.”

McTaggart further emphasised: “We understand that the demolition has now paused, and we are in contact with DerbyCity Council and Historic England to ascertain exactly what remains of the building, its condition, and what next steps are being considered.

“Derby Hippodrome had an irreplaceable social and cultural heritage, much of which is now likely to be sadly lost for the future generations of Derby residents.

“But this is about more than just heritage. Until this recent series of fires, there was still a realistic opportunity to save parts of the building and bring it back into use as an independent music venue. We had recently awarded a grant to the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust, the local group leading this project, to progress the work to bring this building back to life.”

The council has suggested that further demolition work may continue this week, adding in a further statement to the BBC: “The fire at the Hippodrome on Friday caused severe damage and the structure and integrity of the building is at risk.

“There is now imminent danger to the safety of the public, so emergency planning powers have been used to begin demolition work.

“Derbyshire Building Control Partnership visited the site on Friday and Saturday and have handed it to Cheshire Demolition Controllers to make it safe.

“This work will continue until the building no longer poses a threat to public safety. Currently, we don’t know how much, if any, of the building can be saved.”