The private sector is to be asked to come up with plans to replace the Assembly Rooms, which were ruined by a blaze last March.

The city council has decided the building was too badly damaged in a dramatic blaze nearly a year ago.

Instead, the private sector will be asked to come up with plans for new large-scale "performance and entertainment venue" for the city.

t could be built either on the same site or another prominent location, with Duckworth Square, recently bought by the city council, among the possibilities.

If a similar venue is not built in its place, developers say the current Assembly Rooms could be replaced by a complex with retail, restaurants and bars on the bottom and possibly flats on top.

Councillor Martin Rawson, cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said the plans for the new venue "presented lots of exciting opportunities for the Assembly Rooms site" and that the council hoped to "restore the market place to the heart of Derby".

Mr Rawson said the council did not have the finances to build the venue and would look to the private sector for the cash for the building.

He said: "We would look to run the venue in partnership with the private sector and that may see a mixed development on the site with bars and restaurants."

The fire which badly damaged the Assembly Rooms on March 14 last year started in an air conditioning unit in the plant room on top of the site's car park. That room, which was full of machinery that ran the building's water, heating and ventilation, was destroyed.

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