“Regarding todays & yesterdays articles, Anthony refers to the building as a "nightmare¿ but he is the creator of that nightmare which has now turned out to be another nightmare for Derby. The Hippodrome was in wonderful condition until Anthony came along in 2007.
A theatre by its specialist nature & construction cannot be used for anything else but for theatrical entertainment. Walker¿s Bingo just used the auditorium & didn¿t destroy the building¿s fabric.
He all along had other intentions for the site i.e. re-development, all very well publicised at the time and therefore public knowledge. On the 28 March 2008 he very nearly got away with it! Please do not forget demolition vehicles appeared on site on the Tuesday evening preceding the fateful events on the Friday. These were not tools or machines to carry out repairs. Whatever they were doing on that day was inappropriate, disproportionate, completely uncalled for & done without consent for a listed building. They didn¿t even try to protect the building from damage or members of the public or nearby building & businesses.
It was a shambolic display of ineptitude.
He states ¿I have the bank breathing down my neck," & that ¿it is not really my building, it is the bank's and I can't sell it for less than I owe. This has put me in a really awkward position financially.¿
If the bank owns it then surely it is not Anthony¿s to sell?
He also said "I have spent so much on it. The majority has gone on asbestos removal, then repairs and liaising with the council."
REPAIRS what repairs? Am I missing something here? ¿Asbestos removal¿ What asbestos removal? One has to seek special permission & licence for its careful removal & disposal. Where is the evidence that it was carried out following Health & Safety?
Where was the asbestos exactly? Why would a responsible owner do that without having a plan of works drawn up? Perhaps it was then that the removal of the ornate plasterwork took place?

History of events so far tell us to be on the alert.”

“Re yesterdays article in the DT Anthony refers to the building as a "nightmare¿ I suggest he is the creator of that nightmare & that rather he has now turned out to be Derby¿s worst nightmare. The Hippodrome was in wonderful condition until he came along in 2007.
A theatre by its specialist nature & construction cannot be used for anything else but for theatrical entertainment. Walker¿s Bingo just used the auditorium & didn¿t destroy the building¿s fabric.
He all along had other intentions for the site i.e. re-development, all very well publicised at the time and therefore public knowledge. On the 28 March 2008 he very nearly got away with it! Please do not forget demolition vehicles appeared on site on the Tuesday evening preceding the fateful events on the Friday. These were not tools or machines to carry out repairs. Whatever they were doing on that day was inappropriate, disproportionate, completely uncalled for & done without consent for a listed building. They didn¿t even try to protect the building from damage or members of the public or nearby building & businesses.
It was a shambolic display of ineptitude.
He states ¿I have the bank breathing down my neck," & that ¿it is not really my building, it is the bank's and I can't sell it for less than I owe. This has put me in a really awkward position financially.¿
If the bank owns it then surely it is not Anthony¿s to sell?
He also said "I have spent so much on it. The majority has gone on asbestos removal, then repairs and liaising with the council."
REPAIRS what repairs? Am I missing something here? ¿Asbestos removal¿ What asbestos removal? One has to seek special permission & licence for its careful removal & disposal. Where is the evidence that it was carried out following Health & Safety?
Where was the asbestos exactly? Why would a responsible owner do that without having a plan of works drawn up? Perhaps it was then that the removal of the ornate plasterwork took place?

History of events so far tell us to be on the alert.”

“Kev
The protection of the building by the listing allows the council to make a compulsory purchase order for the sum of £1.
The problem is that various officers in the council are against doing this because as has been reported previously they want to spend £18 million on the Assembly Rooms. This is despite the fact that all versions of the Venue Survey paid for by the Arts Council and DCC reccomended that the Assembly Rooms should be demolished.”

“There is no way this guy would sell it for £1. However much we would all like this 'man' to walk away, and leave our fair City alone, I can't see it happening. Does anyone know what the rebuilding costs would be to return it to use in accordance with English Heritage? Presumably the Theatre Trust have some idea. Add that to the £1.2m purchase cost, and you suddenly have no buyers.”

“All comments have been deleted!”

“I checked this story a few minutes ago and added a comment, there were 4 reasonale comments now they seem to have vanished!????
Okay here is a question:
Who is dealing with the sale and where are the valuations and details of the property?
If a building is for sale I'd expect to find details at a local Estate agent's office but there is no mention of this, either in today's story or yesterday's.”

“I think the term "Sold back to" should have read "Sold to". And as we can see this could be sold for £1 (as happened with the grade 2 listed Friar Gate Bridge).

Here is a paragraph from a Theatres Trust website article regarding the sale of the Hippodrome: "One property expert today questioned the seven-figure valuation. The unnamed agent said he believed that even if the land came with permission to demolish the listed building so it could be redeveloped, which it currently does not have, it would only be worth around £500,000. Otherwise, he said it was ¿of little value¿
Also look up Derby City Council's Planning website and enter the planning application number 03/09/00331 and read the English Heritage documents which raise serious questions as to the validity of Anthony's claims that he has previously tried to sell the building.

A question I'd ask is that if I bought a house for say £100,000 and tried to alter it, but had an accident and it fell down, I was not insured so couldn't recover the costs.
Having spent another £50,000 on it but I am left with a ruin, could I put my wrecked house on the market for £150,000 to recover my costs?
What Estate agent would accept that as a serious offer?
Mr. Anthony needs to get a grasp of reality and accept he made a big mistake by thinking he could do as he wishes with a Grade 2 listed building that is protected by law.”

“Please refer back to comments made on yesterday's story DerbyBorn. As it is a listed building- there are laws protecting it.
The owner would have been aware of this when he bought it.”

“I agree with all comments made on this story.
Also- is the owner seriously expecting such a high offer in addition to repair costs if purchased?
I'm sure he is completely aware this is an overblown figure; and it makes me wonder what possible motive he would have to do this?
Possibly making a point that he tried to sell the building- followed by justification for the car park proposal?

I do hope DCC maintain a firm line in Feb, and keep listening to the Theatres Trust and English Heritage.
It would be wrong to allow the owner to profit from his actions.

Also- I still don't understand, why has this building never been covered- which would surely have been a simple matter?
I also agree- hand over the building to DCC and walk away.”

“I don't understand why people suggest it should be sold 'back' to the City Council. As I understand it was sold by Walkers Bingo to Mr Anthony. It never belonged to the Council. Am I wrong?
I believe that Walkers did not want it to be used for entertainment purposes in case it competed with any other interests they may have. This would be why the amateur groups had little success in getting their offers accepted.”