The future’s bright – the future’s Derby

Here, in his latest column reflecting on the news over the past month, our Press and PR Executive Robin Johnson looks at the headlines.

One very early morning in September, I found myself gazing out from the stunning Vaillant Live building, looking at the not so stunning sight of what’s left of the former Duckworth Square shopping centre.

It was the morning of the Derby Property Summit – one of Marketing Derby’s biggest events of the year, which brings together hundreds of business leaders, decision-makers, property professionals and investors from across the region.

Before the doors opened, I’d taken a moment to go up to the top floor and take in the view offered by Vaillant’s huge glass windows.

Beyond the remnants of the 1960s shopping centre, I could see the crumbling remains of the old Hippodrome Theatre.

And then bright sunshine emerged from behind the city skyline.

It was almost symbolic – because Derby has entered a new dawn.

‘Shaping the Future’ was the title of this year’s Derby Property Summit and as anyone who attended the event will attest, the city has a bright future – almost as bright as the sunshine that cascaded into Vaillant Live.

The summit heard how the key pieces of Derby’s regeneration jigsaw were beginning to fall into place, cemented together by one thing: partnerships.

This approach has achieved a lot, particularly in recent years, in delivering the key developments capable of attracting more people to the city centre to ‘live, work and play’ – Vaillant Live and the neighbouring Condor build-to-rent apartments being just two of them.

However, the work is far from finished – the view from Vaillant Live shouted as much.

Regeneration happens at its own pace; its progress is dictated by market conditions, economic circumstances and geopolitical stability (or instability, as has been the case in recent years).

However, despite all the headwinds, Derby continues to have genuine regeneration momentum.

And at the Derby Property Summit, we were standing in one of the epicentres.

After decades standing empty, in a couple of years’ time, Duckworth Square will be home to a ‘best in class’, Grade A office building – representing the latest phase of the £200 million Becketwell regeneration scheme.

Proof of Derby’s regeneration pace can be seen in the headlines from September.

There were lots of positive announcements regarding creating more places for people to live in the city centre.

For example, the Station Quarter has been identified by the East Midlands Combined County Authority as a ‘priority area’ for housing and regeneration.

Derby City Council has appointed a planning and urban design firm to develop a strategic masterplan for Riverside North, a residential-led mixed-use development site in the city.

And Wavensmere Homes is continuing to make hay while the sun shines at its Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme, an £80 million mixed-use project that will ultimately deliver 276 new homes.

The development involves constructing new buildings and preserving and repurposing existing ones, such as the Engine House, which has just undergone a £1 million transformation.

Derby’s progress also extends beyond the city centre boundaries. Out at Infinity Park, a new company called INFINITY, has been formed to deliver a new £400 million technology park, bringing more new jobs to Derby.

Derby is, of course, already a hotbed for high-tech, advanced manufacturing – home to Rolls-Royce, Alstom and nearby Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK.

Our big guns are firing on all cylinders right now – not least train-maker Alstom.

September was quite a month for the Litchurch Lane firm.

Firstly, it announced that the first of 10 new Elizabeth line trains – built in Derby – had entered service.

This contract was an add-on to the original Elizabeth line contract – and helped keep Litchurch Lane operating.

It was something that we, as a city, campaigned for – and we can feel rightly proud that those efforts are paying off.

In fact, they are paying off in spades because, also in September, Alstom announced it had landed a £1 billion contract to supply and maintain a new fleet of battery-electric trains for TransPennine Express.

The trains will be built at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works – which is incredible news for its workforce and for the city.

So, all things considered, I feel pretty optimistic about Derby’s future.

Still need convincing? Then why not stop by our Derby City Lab in the Market Hall to find out more – 50,000 people already have.

Since the lab relocated to this beautifully restored building, 50,000 people have swung by to learn more about the city’s regeneration story.

Talking of the Market Hall, sometime in the future it will be welcoming a very special “celebrity” arrival.

In September, we reported that a fundraising campaign to bring a nine-foot-tall statue of Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft to Derby had hit its target.

Lara is a local girl – created in Derby 30 years ago – and the statue is set to take pride of place inside the Market Hall.

Lara’s milestone is the cover story of the summer edition of our Innovate Magazine. To check it out, click here.

So, as you can see, we have a lot to look forward to here in Derby.

Which brings me back to that view from Vaillant Live, bathed in bright early morning sunshine.

For sites like Duckworth Square – and the former Assembly Rooms for that matter – regeneration cannot come soon enough.

The good news is that it’s on its way. It’s happening. The future’s bright – the future’s Derby!

Have a safe and productive October and I look forward to catching up with you again soon.