Steel completes for Derby entertainment and conference venue

Project team members have celebrated a major milestone at the East Midland’s newest performance venue with the completion of the steel frame.

Working on behalf of main contractor Bowmer + Kirkland (B+K), Shipley Structures fabricated, supplied and erected 1,200t of steelwork for the project. The heaviest single piece of steel weighs 3.5t and the longest member is 12.9m-long.

B+K North Midlands and Yorkshire Commercial Director, Gus Kedzior and Deputy Leader of Derby City Council, Cllr Nadine Peatfield (pictured with B+K Site Manager Joshua Bredenkamp) added their signatures to a piece of steel, which will be visible in the entrance concourse when the building is open to the public.

After starting on site in June last year and despite the very wet winter, the steel frame and the concrete tiered seating area are now in place.

Mr Kedzior said: “Today is a great day for all of the project team but also for Derby and the wider community. Completion of the steel frame now means that we can see the shape and size of the venue and in less than a year we will be handing the project over to Derby City Council.”

Boasting a larger and more flexible space than the city centre has had in the past, the venue will complement the activities of Derby Arena – also built by B+K – to provide the best possible events programme for Derby and the surrounding area.

The venue is set to host over 200 cultural and commercial events each year, and expected to attract an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby. It is also expected to create over 200 new local jobs and provide the impetus to kick-start further investment in surrounding areas of the city centre.