A report seen by Derbyshire Live says a collapse could send ‘heavy masonry concrete debris directly into Green Lane and Macklin Street and into the shop frontages’
This is the part of the remaining building whose condition is being disputed(Image: Submitted)
Derby City Council is about to start work this month securing and propping up the former Derby Hippodrome Theatre.
But a report has been seen by Derbyshire Live which recommends more demolition because it claims that the building is “imminently dangerous” and any collapse could send “heavy masonry concrete debris directly into Green Lane and Macklin Street and into the shop frontages”.
The report, commissioned by the building’s owners, adds: “The building’s proximity to both roads makes this an imminent danger to life, even with fencing in place.”
This claim has been denied by the council, which says its own report on the building has come out very differently and that it has been back to check the building since the owner’s report was published. This has led to some confusion over the state of the building’s structure and concerns have been expressed by an opposition councillor over whether the building is a public risk or not.
The structural appraisal, and the report, of the Grade II listed building – large parts of which were demolished following an arson attack in May 2025 – were carried out and written by HSP Consulting Engineers Ltd and marked for the attention of Christopher Anthony in early October.
Mr Anthony has been associated with the 115-year-old building since 2007, when he took ownership and applied to have it demolished, which was refused, but later was forced to carry out repair work on it, which led to a partial collapse and for which he was found guilty in Stoke Crown Court of damaging the listed building. It is understood that after that the building passed to Blake Finance, which had financed the original sale.
Following last May’s fire and partial demolition, surveys were carried out by the Morton Partnership on behalf of the city council and the Derbyshire Buildings Control Partnership (DBCP), which works on behalf of the council, in July and September.
At that time in May, a large part of the Grade II-listed building was demolished but it is understood that the remaining facade did not need to be brought down after inspections by the Derbyshire Building Control Partnership and Historic England, which oversees listed buildings.
Much of the content of those reports is contested in the HSP Consulting report, which concludes that “the only safe and compliant course of action is the controlled removal of danger by dismantling and reducing the structure to a safe height”.
This was the closure of Green Lane put in place by the council previously. Cars could not travel up Green Lane but pedestrians could walk on the other side of the road(Image: Submitted)
In early October, the city council decided to close Green Lane outside the building. The reason for the closure was given in the public notice, which appeared in the Derby Telegraph on September 26, as “to protect safety of all traffic and pedestrians due to Hippodrome building at risk of collapse”.
This left local people scratching their heads as to why this has happened now, more than four months after the building last underwent an arson attack and partial demolition made the rest safe.
But by the week before Christmas, the road closure had been lifted and the city council issued a press release announcing that it would carry out work at the former theatre building to “preserve the property for the future”.
The local authority added that “enabling works began at the privately-owned building on Monday, December 8, before full mobilisation in the New Year, with these works expected to be completed in March”.
It also added that from January, hoardings are due to be placed around the site, and access points will be boarded up, while the canopy will be fully inspected.
A temporary propping system will also be installed to prevent further deterioration inside – something the CSP Consulting report particularly pointed out as the wrong thing to do and which called it “technically unworkable, structurally meaningless, and professionally irresponsible”.
The works will be carried out by heritage and conservation specialists ASBC, with support from the city council, Derbyshire Building Control Partnership, The Morton Partnership, and Historic England. This project is also supported by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The city council is understood to have issued an “urgent works notice” to the owner of the building but potentially without a response, the council looks to have decided to undertake work itself using funding from Historic England and will then try to recoup the cost from the owner.
When asked about the safety aspect of the site, council leader Councillor Nadine Peatfield said that the council had overseen another visit to the site since the HSP Consulting report had been compiled, of which it was aware, and had decided to remove the road blockage and to do enough work to make the site safe.
She said: “The owner’s engineers will come down heavily on the condition of the building. Our own report came out very differently.
“We have issued an urgent works notice and we will be looking to chase the owner for the cost of the work. We are looking to make it safe, not demolish it.”
Opposition city council Conservative group leader Councillor Steve Hassall said he had always been, and remains, “a strong advocate for the preservation of the Derby Hippodrome. I have consistently argued that this historic building should be protected and assessed properly, with every realistic option for retention and reuse explored”.
But he added: “Preservation cannot come at the expense of public safety. The HSP Consulting report states plainly that the remaining structure is imminently dangerous, which is not political language. It is the professional judgment of a chartered structural engineer.
“Despite this, the council is now issuing public statements suggesting that the risk has reduced sufficiently to reopen streets and resume activity nearby. That position is fundamentally at odds with the professional evidence contained in this report. Even though it is still legally labelled as a dangerous structure.
“I support preservation, but I will not support ignoring evidence. Ignoring warnings does not protect heritage. It puts lives at risk.”
Derbyshire Live has approached HSP Consulting to see what it thinks of the latest actions by the city council and also the city council to ask if it has anything further to add to Cllr Peatfield’s remarks.