The demolition of the Assembly Rooms has taken a step nearer(Image: Derbyshire Live)

Derby's planning control committee has approved a £100 million plan to regenerate the city's Market Place, which will involve the demolition of the 50-year-old Assembly Rooms building, former tourism office and adjacent car park, as well as the building in Full Street, occupied most recently by performance clothing company HUUB.

Controversy over the future of the Assembly Rooms has been raging for more than a decade since there was a fire in the plant room on the roof of the adjacent car park, which led to the performance venue's closure.

• March 14, 2026 - the Assembly Rooms closed following a fire in the plant room of the adjacent car park, which affected the venue's air conditioning, hot water and heating units It was due to be closed for "at least 18 months" leading to cancellations and refunds.
• March 5, 2015 - the council said the Assembly Rooms would never reopen and plans were drawn to demolish the building and rebuild elsewhere.
• November 2015 - the council said it would get a £5.05 million insurance pay-out but declined to refurbish and reopen it
• September 2017 the Derby Telegraph went inside the building to find it looking as it did on the night of the fire, ready for a performance, having undergone a facelift just before the fire event.
• January 2018 - decision taken to go-ahead with a £44 million replacement venue in the Market Place and to put up council tax by one per cent to pay for it
• May 2018 - Labour lost control of the council and the Conservatives who with Lib Dem and UKIP support decided to refurbish the building using a grant of £8.6 million and at a cost of £24 million
• January 2020 - it was announced that costs had increased to £30 million and the plug was pulled on the refurbishment project
• July 2020 - a plan to build what is now the £45.8 million Vaillant Arena in Becketwell was produced
• April 2021 - councillors voted to demolish the Assembly Rooms but it could not happen until an alternative plan was approved and in place with five years to achieve it
• September 2021 - a new £60 million plan to relocate Derby Theatre to the site of the Assembly Rooms put forward
• January 2023 - the council is given £20 million by the government towards the project but it's not enough
• March 2024 - the administration changes again and the Labour-run council announces that demolition of the building will start in 2024 with an office block, commercial and restaurant outlets in its place
• April 2025 - latest plan out for consultation with a day-and-night venue called DerbyMADE with a rooftop bar, offices and shops, DerbyHOTEL would be a seven-storey four-star hotel and DerbyWORKS would be grade-A office space.
• March 2026 - an outline planning application was submitted by the city council to its planning department. A condition covered the Assembly Rooms, which says it cannot be demolished until a comprehensive redevelopment scheme is approved and secured by a binding contract with a defined delivery timetable. This was removed by the city council, which says that this outline planning application represents the "comprehensive development scheme".
• May 2026 - the planning control committee defers a decision on the outline planning application
• July 2026 - the £100 million redevelopment of Derby's Market Place to replace the Assembly Rooms has got the go-ahead.