£10m plans set to breathe new life into key area of Derby city centre

The founders of flexible workspace company Cubo have revealed £10 million regeneration plans, which aim to breathe new life into an area of Derby city centre.

Developer St James Street (Derby) Ltd, working in partnership with Derby City Council, has launched plans to restore, regenerate and revitalise more than a dozen properties in St James Street, in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.

The developer acquired the properties from Clowes Developments last summer, supported by the city council and the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

The properties comprise a mix of long-term vacant ground floor shops and extensive redundant upper floor spaces.

Marc and Rebecca Brough, owners of the development company, recently acquired Allestree Hall from the city council and are also founders of Cubo.

Marc said: “We opened the first Cubo flexible office space at the corner of St James Street in 2020 and it has saddened me to see how this once-thriving street has become so run down and neglected since then.

“As a company we are committed to breathing new life into these buildings – bringing long term vacant buildings back into economic use, driving higher footfall and vibrancy and creating a vibrant environment that will benefit businesses, residents and visitors.”

St James Street has long been considered an ‘at risk’ street, with vacancy rates consistently exceeding 50 per cent.

However, with the opening of the city’s new live entertainment venue, Vaillant Live, and the restored Derby Market Hall, the street is expected to gain enhanced visibility and footfall.

Beginning with the transformation of The Tramshed, a disused historic warehouse space, into grade A office space, the scheme aims to completely overhaul ground floor retail units and repurpose extensive, unused upper floors.

A planning application is now ready to be submitted to create 29 apartments on the upper floors of the properties, stretching from the Strand to the end of St James Street, as well as new shopfronts on the vacant ground floor units.

Future phases include plans to rejuvenate St James’s Yard and reinstate the pedestrian link from Sadler Gate through to St James Street.

Marc said: “We could not have embarked on this journey without the unwavering support from Derby City Council and their extended team and partners who have played a key role in helping bring our vision to life through the Future High Streets Fund.”

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, leader of Derby City Council and cabinet member for city centre, regeneration, strategy and policy, said: “We were thrilled to partner with St James Street (Derby) Ltd on this project to revitalise this key area of our city centre.

“The team have made rapid progress and we’re looking forward to seeing the first phase of the scheme come to life.

“Working closely with our partners, we’ve been able to make great progress in revitalising areas of our city centre.

“St James Street is a prime example of how, by collaborating with private sector partners, we can bring our vision for a vibrant city centre to life.”

Commercial property and regeneration specialist Rigby & Co acted for St James Street (Derby) Ltd in acquiring the properties from Clowes Developments.

Russell Rigby, managing director of Rigby & Co, said: “This is a massive shot in the arm for Derby city centre – the scheme needs vision, pace, experience and a ‘can-do’ attitude to overcome a number of barriers which have previously held this street back from releasing its full potential.”