Derby’s momentum shows no signs of fizzling out

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

Pretty much every night this week, I’ve been hearing the unmistakable sound of the occasional firework fizzing and popping in the distance.

Of course, it all reached a crescendo last night with Bonfire Night – and will no doubt continue well into the weekend as the Diwali celebrations take hold.

I do enjoy a good fireworks display – a properly organised one that is.

And if the headlines from October were anything to go by, Derby has very good reason to let off a few fireworks.

Because, like Guy Fawkes effigies up and down the country, Derby is on fire. Not literally, of course!

The month contained several key announcements that left us ‘ooh-ing’ and ‘aah-ing’.

The big one was the confirmation of the location for the new headquarters of Great British Railways.

A brand-new Grade A office development at Becketwell, in the heart of the city centre, has been chosen as the base of the new rail body.

It has been quite a journey to get to this point – about three years.

But it should be well worth the wait, particularly for those city centre businesses – the cafes, the bars, the restaurants etc – who stand to benefit.

In recent years, city centre living has returned to the city centre – now, in the shape of GBR, workers will return too.

Workers returning to the heart of the city will be a welcome sight. I’m almost tempted to say ‘suits on the street’ – but, in truth, how many of us wear a suit these days?

We’ve already started to see the benefits of Derby’s ‘residential revolution’ – hopefully, this is the beginning of its ‘office revolution’.

October saw planning permission submitted for the Becketwell office by St James Securities – known as 3 Springwell Square.

It is another key piece in Derby city centre’s regeneration jigsaw.

Another piece is the Guildhall Theatre. An important strand of the city’s strategy to revitalise the city centre is giving people more reasons to visit.

The theatre has been out of action for a while now – but in October, planning applications were approved paving its way for its full restoration.

I can’t wait to see this historic old gem back open and reverberating with applause.

A company that certainly deserves applause – perhaps even a standing ovation – is Rolls-Royce.

I fear I’m running out of superlatives to describe how well our largest private sector employer is doing right now.

The latest highlight came in October when the firm broke ground on the expansion of its Raynesway site, which will effectively double its size.

The engineering giant also landed another major aero engine order with an aircraft leasing firm.

This was then followed up by an announcement made in the Budget that the firm was teaming up with the Government on a £2.5 billion jet engine programme, which will secure thousands of jobs and potentially create many more.

A round of applause should also be reserved for the winners of the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards.

October saw us crown the very best places to eat and drink in Derby and the surrounding area.

Winning one of these awards means a lot to those operating in the notoriously challenging hospitality sector – and Marketing Derby would like to thank everyone who submitted a nomination (there were over 5,000!).

Attention now turns to Marketing Derby’s latest competition – Rising Star.

I don’t know about a round of applause, but Rising Star certainly aims to lend a fledgling business or entrepreneur a big hand.

This time, we’re offering an expanded prize after teaming up with East Midlands Chamber.

Entries are now open (they close on 4 December). So, if you own a new business – and you feel you might benefit from the increased exposure, not to mention connections and networking opportunities, get your entry in!

An institution that has a well-earned reputation for supporting businesses is the University of Derby.

In October, a national report was published which awarded the university its highest rating for supporting businesses, helping entrepreneurial graduates and driving local growth.

Published by Research England, the KEF6 report looked at the different ways universities contribute to the economy and wider society, including through business partnerships, skills development, entrepreneurship and local regeneration.

The University of Derby was given top ratings for ‘Local Growth & Regeneration’ and ‘CPD & Graduate Start Ups’.

October also saw another story involving the University of Derby and Down to Earth Derby about the city being chosen for a major European research and innovation project exploring how cities can build healthier, fairer and more climate friendly food systems.

Down to Earth Derby’s Electric Daisy venue, in Bold Lane – an award-winning urban nature garden in the heart of the city centre – has been selected as the only UK ‘Living Lab’ involved in the €6 million UrbanFood project.

Each Living Lab is a real-world space where communities, researchers and organisations come together to design, test and improve new solutions.

Working alongside the University of Derby, Down to Earth’s Living Lab will be rooted at Electric Daisy and reach right across the city through satellite hubs with community partners.

Derby’s findings will be shared with partner cities across Europe, and the best ideas from those cities will be brought back to Derby.

It’s a real feather in the cap for Derby – and recognition of all the great work the Down to Earth team do at their Bold Lane oasis.

So, with all these stories in mind, October was a pretty spectacular month for Derby.

The fireworks may be almost over, but Derby’s momentum seems to show no signs of fizzling out.

Anyway, have a safe and productive November and I look forward to catching up with you again soon.