The people of Derby should be very excited at what is to become a bright future for their city centre. After a long period of low investment in the city, the council has started the planning of major development projects and major improvements to the city centre's infrastructure to breathe new life into the whole area. In April 2003, Derby Cityscape Ltd was established as the company to oversee the urban transformation of Derby and created a master plan for the city which would include, a new Further Education college, major expansion of the Eagle shopping Centre, housing developments by the riverside, and proposals for upgrading transport links into and out of the city centre.
The Masterplan was created and unveiled in 2005 and work began on putting it into practice, but 5 years on - how much progress has been made?
Here we take a look at what has already been achieved from the plan, what the proposals are for the immediate future of the city's development, and what is in the pipeline.
Achievements
o A £340m extension to the old Eagles Shopping Centre gave birth to the impressive Westfield Centre which was opened by Tess Daly in October 2007. It has over 150 shops, a large cinema and many places to eat. In 2008 the centre received over 23 million visitors.
o In September 2008 Derby QUAD was opened to the public, the city's new centre for Contemporary Art and Film which offers an art gallery, cinema, cafe bar and workshop. Since then the venue has been visited by over 223,000 people.
o In February 2009 the Cathedral Bridge was completed and went on to win the Small Civil Engineering Project 2009 award at the British Constructing Industry awards.
o June 2009 saw the opening of the Jury's Inn hotel located in the middle of the city's vibrant Cathedral Quarter. The modern and stylish hotel has 213 bedrooms as well as 5 meeting rooms and other business facilities.
o In September 2009, the historic and recently restored Roundhouse building opened its doors to students of Derby College. This project was rewarded with the coveted Heritage Award and also the Project of the Year award at the Constructing Excellence EM Regional Awards 2009.
o £22 million has already been invested in renewing the platforms and facilities as well as replacing the canopies at Derby's bustling railway station.
o Cathedral Green has been stylishly re-landscaped making it an attractive public area overlooking the river Derwent, with the Cathedral in the background.
Scheduled Developments for 2010
Riverlights Complex - This £100million project will create a complex on the banks of the river made up of a state-of-the-art bus station, a Holiday Inn and Hilton Hampton hotel as well as retail outlets and restaurants. The bus station is due to be up and running in the early part of 2010.
St Helen's Street - £22million has been earmarked for a housing project, designed provide 180 family eco-friendly homes comprising of a mix of affordable housing and private sales. The first phase will develop 40 one and two bedroom houses and is set to be finished in July 2010.
Derby Railway Station Gateway - There are 2 phases of the regeneration program for the railway station. The first is for a transport interchange at the station forecourt to ensure that links to other types of transport are more efficient and also cut traffic congestion. £1.75m of the £1.8m funding for this has now been approved by EMDA and ERDF, and the difference will be made up by Derby City Council. Phase 2 involves the renovation of a dilapidated building adjacent to the station to be used for employment space. The £1.3m funding for this scheme has already been secured from EMDA, Network Rail and The Railway Heritage Trust. Work is due to begin on both phases in summer 2010.
Friar Gate Square - Planning permission for this £20million development has recently been obtained which will see the creation of two landmark office buildings providing 100,000sq ft of quality office space. A pedestrian link will also be provided to the historic Friar Gate railway bridge.
In The Pipeline
Looking past 2010, Derby Cityscape has 5 other projects lined up to begin in the following stage of Derby City's regeneration. All of these have now had full planning permission approved. The projects include a combination of city centre housing developments, further top quality office space at Cathedral Green, improvements to the traditional heritage and retail areas in Sadler Gate and a retail and office space complex on Cathedral road.
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