The future of the Derby Playhouse theatre appears to have been secured after the University of Derby announced that it had agreed a deal to purchase the venue's lease.

Plans for the theatre now include establishing the venue as a 'learning theatre' for the university, offering students the chance to use the experience of preparing and staging live performances to enhance degree course work. It is also expected that Derby Playhouse will continue to stage amateur and professional theatre productions, as well as hosting the university's theatre arts programme, supporting a range of courses.

The university's vice-chancellor, John Coyne, said: "The theatre is an important cultural asset in the city, and while it has been closed, there has been a definite void in Derby's cultural scene. When it became clear that there was a real risk that the theatre might be lost, we had to act decisively to secure its future." In December, Derby City Council revealed that plans to save the theatre from extinction were rejected by creditors, after the company that ran the venue entered administration in November 2007.