2. Biz Network SEPT 2023 35-70.qxp_Chamberlink 30/08/2023 11:30 Page 68
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SUSTAINABLE PLACES
This resonates with Derby, a city with the highest salaries and disposable income outside London and the South East, and a strong magnet for investment in advanced manufacturing with industry titans like Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Alstom – but also home to some of the UK’s worst social mobility cold spots. Kathryn Allen, head of investment at Marketing Derby, says: “We have a really strong economy in Derby but if you walk through the city centre, it doesn’t feel like the city where Rolls-Royce has its civil aerospace global headquarters. “So from a real estate perspective, we need to start thinking about our strategy for how to bring more people to live, work and visit Derby city centre. By increasing footfall, it becomes more vibrant and this supports inward investment to address the social mobility issues. It’s one big jigsaw and real estate is a key part of this.” With the pension funds that typically back major developments eager to future-proof schemes, there is a growing emphasis on mixed-use buildings that comprise variations of residential, retail, enterprise and leisure space. This is evident in the £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme, the largest in a healthy pipeline of development projects for Derby. It will feature a 259-bed build-to-rent apartments scheme, a 3,500-capacity performance venue, grade A offices, hotel, student accommodation and a multistorey car park. “It’s about making your city centre work really hard for you by catering for different customers at different times of the day,” says Kathryn.
‘Yesterday’s thinking won’t shape the place of tomorrow’ As well as mixed-use master planning, single buildings may also be designed for multiple purposes. The Grade II-listed Derby Market Hall, for example, is undergoing a major refurbishment into a flexible space capable of hosting traditional and modern markets, with hot food stalls and small-scale live art events. There are hopes it can be a modern home for the city’s making and trading heritage. Kathryn believes the £46m Becketwell arena – which will be operated by live entertainment industry leader ASM Global and bring a range of stand-up comedy, family shows, musical theatre, exhibitions and business conferences to the city centre for the first time in decades when it opens late next year – is a “gamechanger” for Derby. But while new amenities will bring thousands more residents and visitors into the city centre, providing a new customer base for businesses, it’s crucial they aren’t built in isolation. To this end, developers like Clowes Developments and Wavensmere Homes – which have teamed up to deliver a mixed-use scheme for regenerating the 11.5-acre Friar Gate Goods Yard – are working in partnership with the likes of Marketing Derby, Derby City Council and the two business improvement districts (BIDs) on the wider consideration of placemaking. The community is also taken on this journey via the
Becketwell arena
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business network September 2023
Derby City Lab, which opened in an empty unit in St James Street last year to host a rolling programme of dynamic exhibitions and discussion groups focused on ideas to regenerate the city. “We’re bringing in lots of new residents into the city centre, which is fantastic from an economic strategy perspective as it creates new markets for our retail and leisure operators, but developers understand they have to make it a nice experience for people to live here,” says Kathryn. “There’s no doubt that if we want people to come and live in these new homes, we need to make our place more attractive so they leave their apartments to go for food and drink, do an activity or even just go for a walk. This is what cities have to be in the future, and it’s important we engage people about what they might look like to achieve this.” TWO YEARS AGO, the Chamber ran a virtual roundtable event in partnership with Leicestershire Business Voice and BID Leicester to discuss how Leicester city centre could not just survive, but thrive, beyond the pandemic, with findings helping to inform Leicester City Council in developing its next Local Plan. Research was presented from the Centre for Cities thinktank into the city’s commercial property make-up and footfall data. It highlighted how Leicester was over-reliant on retail and weekend trade, with the suggestion being it needed to focus on attracting companies that employ highskilled professionals who have strong spending power to sustain other businesses. The Chamber’s director of policy and insight Chris Hobson spoke about the “need to think radically about how we reshape the city centre because yesterday’s thinking won’t shape the place of tomorrow”. This sentiment can be applied to any city or town, and it was noticeable how one recommendation was to explore how the relatively large proportion of industrial space in
Aerial view of the Becketwell regeneration
ABOVE: Nottingham’s Broad Marsh is set to undergo major regeneration