How Derby is building something truly special

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

So, here we are – the school summer holidays are now in full swing.

Six weeks of trying to keep my four-year-old son from bursting in on online team meetings asking me to fix a LEGO model that’s been dropped on the kitchen floor.

I really don’t mind though – I love building LEGO with him.

We spend hours putting together weird and wonderful creations, testing his imagination and dexterity – while pushing my construction skills and patience to the limit.

Whether it be a LEGO set or a brand-new city centre development, the whole process takes time and patience.

These are certainly things that are needed when it comes to Derby’s ongoing regeneration story.

However, in my experience, the wait always proves to be worth it – a bit like the smile on the face of a four-year-old when the last brick clicks onto a 4,000-piece LEGO spaceship.

Which brings me on to the headlines from July.

Last month, the redevelopment of the Market Place took a step closer after Derby City Council’s planning committee approved an outline planning application submitted by Ion Developments.

Of course, this by no means the end of the story – but it is a positive step in the right direction, and we are now hopefully a bit closer to finally sorting the former Assembly Rooms site.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Market Place, applications have been submitted for the renovation of the iconic Guildhall Theatre.

The theatre is right next to Derby Market Hall – which this year will be the new home of the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards.

Nominations for this year’s awards opened at the start of last month and closed on Monday.

Over the last few weeks, you have been voting in your thousands for your favourite places to eat and drink – and we would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to do so. It means a lot to our food and drink establishments.

The shortlisted venues will be announced very soon – so watch this space!

The Market Hall is also home to the Derby City Lab, which is designed to engage the public in the city’s future.

Since opening at the Market Hall, the lab has attracted tens of thousands of visitors – including one familiar to viewers of the hit BBC show Dragons’ Den.

Recently, the lab had the pleasure of welcoming ex-Dragon Theo Paphitis, who is Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Derby.

Theo dropped by the lab as part of a tour of the city, arranged by Marketing Derby.

Theo is not the only familiar face to visit Derby in recent weeks.

Towards the end of last month, in only his second week in the role, Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited train-maker Alstom’s Litchurch Lane Works to meet apprentices past and present – and to announce the launch of new technical education routes.

July also saw the arrival of our latest Innovate Magazine – the cover story of which made me feel rather old.

It celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Tomb Raider video games. Back in my Derby Telegraph days in the late 1990s, I remember covering stories about the rise and rise of the original developer of those games – Derby’s Core Design.

You can read that feature, and all the other fantastic content in this summer’s edition, right here.

With the Food and Drink Awards – and the publication of the latest Innovate Magazine – July was a busy month for Marketing Derby.

It was also a busy month for Rolls-Royce. It saw the engineering giant officially break ground on the expansion of its Raynesway site, effectively doubling its size as it ramps up production for UK and Australian submarine programmes.

Meanwhile, over at the firm’s civil aerospace site, in Sinfin, Rolls-Royce has been busy racking up new aero engine orders.

Some of these new deals were sealed at the Farnborough International Airshow, which, for anyone who has been, is one of the biggest events in the aerospace industry.

In my career as a business journalist, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Rolls-Royce’s Sinfin site and see its engines being manufactured up close.

The precision and complexity of the technology is mind-boggling.

I just hope LEGO don’t decide to issue a build-your-own Trent engine set!

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