At long last, one of Derby’s ugliest eyesores is about to disappear
Full demolition of the long-abandoned Showcase Cinema building has been approved with well-known food and drink outlets lined up to take its place.
Derby City Council has given the green light for a new Burger King drive-thru store at the partly-bulldozed Showcase Cinemas site on Osmaston Park Road.
Just a few yards away there will be a Starbucks drive-thru constructed, with the building to also include a new Greggs store.
The building – reportedly Derby’s first multiplex cinema – has been left half bulldozed in recent years, prompting calls for urgent action.
Last year new plans for the “ugly” site were submitted to fully demolish the dilapidated building, which hundreds used to visit daily for more than 20 years.
@outdoor_explores Abandoned showcase cinema derby 🍿🎬📽️🎞️ #fyp #showcase #cinema #abandoned #viral ♬ original sound – SPRINKK
The plans for demolition came in two parts. The first plan submitted was to build a 66-bed care home on part of the site and the second was for a retail/food complex including a Greggs, Starbucks and Burger King.
The city council has approved the latter application – with the care home element still to be decided.
The cinema closed several years ago following the coronavirus pandemic.
Applicant Pear Tree Ltd told the council in a planning statement that the work to regenerate the area was needed “sooner rather than later”.
The approval marks a positive turn for the site which was at the centre of a council dispute a few years ago.
Plans were submitted to turn the building into a car showroom. However, those plans descended into crisis when the council started demolition work began before permission was granted, leaving half remaining.
NIGEL SLATER
