We are the Parish Council and we are fundraising for the Premier Electric Theatre.

The Premier Electric Theatre was designed by prominent Nottingham architect, Frederick Ball, formally Sheriff of Nottingham, whilst Mayor of Nottingham.

Opening in 1912, just 16 years after the first ever screening of moving pictures in Britain in 1896, it brought cinema and live theatre to a small mining community in the heart of Derbyshire. It was central in the community and in the lives of the working people of Somercotes. In the days before radio and television it brought glamour and excitement. Initially seating three hundred, it was enlarged to seat more than a thousand and was at the cutting edge of cinema technology. Equipped to show Cinemascope films in 1954, it attracted an audience from a wide area. A theatre expert has described the décor and remaining features as “significant and rare”.

Gutted by fire in 1960, it closed, reopening as a Bingo Hall to again become a much loved entertainment venue for the residents of Somercotes, eventually closing entirely in 2013.

Now, in its sad and derelict state serves to remind residents of the amazing facility the community once enjoyed, but no longer has. It has become an eyesore in the High Street, once a cannabis farm, it attracts graffiti and vandalism, encouraging anti-social behaviour.

When plans were submitted for its demolition in 2020, over 600 objections came from the community, supported by the Theatres Trust and Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust. There have been over 1,000 signatories calling for its restoration in an online petition.