Last-ditch bid to save Derby’s postwar modernist gem from bulldozers

The Clash and Take That once played there, now the planned demolition of the empty 1970s Assembly Rooms is dividing the cityWhen Derby launched a competition for the redevelopment of its marketplace in 1970, the winning design was said to be “architecturally effective whatever the function” and praised for its “excellence of conception”.Created by the famous architectural duo Hugh Casson and Neville Conder, the Derby Assembly Rooms was at the centre of city life for decad