The person filming this took their life in their hands.
It's sickening - I have friends in Derby and, although they're not regular theatregoers, they're angry at the council because, with the playhouse closed as well, Derby has no theatre at all.
I did a thread on this last year. I know the partner of the guy who filmed this. The guy with the camera is 60 odd years old and some of the sounds you hear on the video are actually of him crying as he sees what's before him! The guy who is responsible for this should rot in hell- and I'll swallow the key, what a ******** *******! All of you on here know my passion for old theatres and my involvement with The Theatres Trust and I am sad and sickened by this episode. Shame on you Derby, shame on you!
Over here, if a building is considered architecturally important it is "listed" by government agencies and then it becomes nearly impossible to get legal permission to demolish.
So property speculators buy listed buildings, leave them empty and unused, then arrange for vandals to break in and set them on fire. Once the building has burnt down it is beyond repair and so legal permission can then be obtained to demolish.
This happens a lot not just to theatres but to any decent old building that is no longer used for its original intention.
In this case the "vandals" failed to burn the building down and so the owners had to arrange a deliberately botched roof repair in order to finish the theatre off.
The owner of Derby’s Hippodrome theatre has pleaded guilty to demolishing part of its roof during work on the Grade II-listed building two years ago. The admission was made at Derby Crown Court today as Derby City Council accused London developer Christopher Anthony of carrying out unauthorised work to the building in Green Lane which led to the collapse of its flat roof. But the prosecution on the council’s behalf said it accepted that Mr Anthony had not deliberately set out to damage the building and that it was rather a “botched job”. Judge David Pugsley said had it been alleged and proven that Mr Anthony had deliberately caused damage for financial gain, then he would have not hesitated in imposing a prison sentence. Instead, the court is exploring other punishments, including a fine. The charges against Mr Anthony’s co-accused, his contractor Wayne Watson, were dismissed. Once Mr Anthony changed his plea to guilty at today’s hearing, the city council’s legal team said it offered no evidence against Mr Watson.
What is clear, however, it is spun, is that a number of people showed considerable neglect and possible contempt in carrying out their responsible duties in ensuring this Grade II listed building was given the protection it deserves.
Perhaps a suitable fine for Christopher Anthony and all those who financially gain from the future development on this site, would be to fund, on an on-going basis, a few seasons of work at The Derby Playhouse.
Thereby giving some benefit back to the community who have been robbed of a large part of their heritage.
