THE trust which has applied to transform the front part of Derby's Hippodrome theatre into a coffee shop and exhibition area has revealed the first plan of what the changes would look like.
And the Derby Hippodrome Restoration Trust has launched a project to put together one of the first exhibitions to go on display there.
It wants to create a "central archive" of material relating to the history of the building, including interviewing and filming people talking about their memories of the site.
The trust, which eventually wants to make the building a theatre again, has submitted an outline planning application to rebuild the former front of house area of the theatre, in Green Lane.
One of the trust's directors, Peter Steer, said it would also involve "meeting spaces on four floors plus roofing over the auditorium and stage house".
He said: "This will preserve the balconies and the basic proscenium arch construction for the future restoration as a theatre. This proposal has been shown to be economically viable."
The plan would involve multi-million-pound funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The trust then plans to use this as a springboard to bid for more cash to make it into a 1,000-plus seater theatre.
But, to apply for that first funding, it needs to be able to show it could take up ownership of the derelict former Hippodrome theatre, something it cannot currently do.
The trust has now requested that the Government puts pressure on Derby City Council to issue a compulsory purchase order on the site.
If the application to the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport is successful, Mr Steer said the council could purchase the building and then lease it to the trust.
The current estate agent for the ex-theatre, Davidson Aquila, is working on behalf of a bank, which is effectively in control of the building's future.
But the bank is set to make a planning application for the site which would not involve turning it back into a theatre.
Mr Steer said the trust was "indebted" to one of its long-standing supporters for helping fund two-thirds of the planning application costs.
But he added that the organisation was now looking for help to pay for the rest and that anyone who wants to help should visit www.derby hippodrome.co.uk.
Of the archive project, Tony Jaggers, another director of the trust, said this too could be paid for by the HLF.
He said: "We are currently in negotiations with them.
"Our project is called 'Underneath the Arches, the history of the Derby Hippodrome – the people's theatre'.
"Our prime aim is to create an 'oral history' by interviewing and filming as many people as possible with memories of the theatre or people who worked there.
"We also plan to create a digital archive of as much material as possible, mainly photographs."
The planning application has not yet been registered by the council so no date has been set for a decision to be made on the application.
The Hippodrome opened in 1914 as a 2,000-seat theatre. It was later used a cinema and a bingo hall before being sold to businessman Christopher Anthony in 2007.
The trust was launched after the building was badly damaged in March 2008.
chris.mallett@derbytelegraph.co.uk
