Derby City Lab reflects on successful first year at Market Hall

Derby City Lab has been reflecting on a successful first year at its Market Hall home during which it has attracted almost 45,000 visitors.

Designed to engage the public in the city’s future, the lab relocated to the beautifully restored Market Hall in May last year, opening its doors on 24 May – the same day as the building’s public launch.

Since then, it has proven a major hit with visitors keen to find out the latest about Derby’s regeneration and share their feedback and ideas on how the city can be made better.

Previously, the lab was situated in St James’s Street before moving to the Derbion shopping centre in 2024, where visitor numbers hit the 20,000 mark.

However, the current edition of the lab has attracted over twice that number in its first 12 months alone.

Adam Rodgers, inward investment executive at Marketing Derby and Derby City Lab lead, said: “We’re absolutely delighted the lab has attracted so many visitors in its first 12 months at Derby Market Hall.

“Our original thinking behind the move was that the lab needed to be situated back in the city’s regeneration heartland – and the visitor numbers show that this was the right decision.

“There’s so many exciting projects happening in the city centre right now – and we hope those who have visited us have gone away feeling better informed about Derby’s direction of travel.”

The centrepiece of the lab is the Derby City Model – a detailed 3D model of Derby city centre, which aims to help visitors visualise the city’s ongoing regeneration story.

It also includes the City Living Room, the 300 years of innovation timeline and the University of Derby’s DUST showcase.

There is also a specially commissioned touch screen kiosk created by Hardy Signs, which features an interactive development pipeline.

In its first year at the Market Hall, the lab has also hosted consultations, including one on the vision for the redevelopment of the Market Place, and acted as a starting point for Marketing Derby’s popular Derby Insider Tours.

It has also acted as a drop off point for donations to Derby Book Festival’s Children’s Book Drop.

It will be doing so again for this year’s appeal, which coincides with the festival’s Summer Edition.

From Friday 22 to Sunday 31 May, Derby City Lab will be accepting donations of pre-loved children’s books.

The biannual appeal aims to collect gently used, pre-loved books suitable for primary school children, which will then be distributed to youngsters who do not have access to books.

To see the full list of drop off locations click here.

Between Saturday 23 and Sunday 31 May, the Market Hall itself will be staging a range of free events and entertainment to mark the building’s 160th anniversary. For more information click here.

For more information about the Derby City Lab and to plan your visit click here.