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Centre's a big hit with pop mogul and railway buff
Thursday 8th October 2009
RAIL enthusiast and pop mogul Pete Waterman has unveiled a plaque at Derby Conference Centre to mark its significance to the railway industry.
Built in the 1930s, the centre was the first in the country created specifically for rail training and it is still used today by rail companies.
To celebrate its history, the London Road building has been awarded a Transport Trust Red Wheel plaque. It bears information on the building and what it was and continues to be used for. Unveiling the plaque yesterday, Mr Waterman said: "Centres like this are important because we have to maintain training; without training we don't go forward."
The building was grade II-listed in 2005 and is part of the RTC Group, which owns rail training businesses in the grounds of the conference centre. Those businesses use the centre for training and meetings.
A planning application by the site's owners, Arab Investments, to demolish buildings behind the centre and replace them with flats was this week refused permission by Derby City Council.
It had been feared the loss of businesses housed there would make the conference centre unviable and cause the loss of 200 jobs from the city.
Mr Waterman, who was previously interested in transforming Derby's Roundhouse building, before it was restored by Derby College, said it was essential rail buildings were preserved. "This is an amazing building; it is easy to build flats but it is very difficult to get jobs," he said. "In this country, we have sold off a lot of the silver and what we have today we need to keep and make sure we sell no more."
The Transport Trust's red wheel scheme was introduced to recognise places of importance in the transport industry. They are similar way to the blue plaques which mark buildings relating to important historical figures. Neil Marshall, communications director at the Transport Trust, said: "We always have to recognise where we have come from, as well as where we are going. "The red wheel programme marks some of the most significant elements of our transport industry. "This building was the first purpose-built rail training centre and, in its first 30 years of operation, it had the most profound impact on the railways throughout the world. It is of global importance and we shouldn't underplay some of our achievements."
Chairman of the RTC Group Bill Douie said the company was committed to the art deco building.
"This is a very important site for the railway industry and we have to make sure that we have the funds to preserve that heritage. "We have invested heavily in this building over the last couple of years and I think we are pretty well there."