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CREATOR
OF CITY'S GHOST WALKS WANTS TO BE A COUNCILLOR
 Local historian Richard
Felix is to stand for the Labour party in the
next Derby City Council elections and will be the
party's candidate for Darley ward at the 2010
local elections next May. The former chairman of
Derby's Chamber of Trade has already worked with
Derby's Labour group on campaigns such as a
petition to keep open city centre toilets. Mr
Felix said that, as someone who cares deeply
about Derby, he wanted to make a difference
locally.... more
>>> |
COUNCILLORS
CLAIMED NEARLY £790,000 IN ALLOWANCES
 Councillors cost taxpayers
in Derby nearly £790,000 in allowances and
mileage claims in the past year. Figures for
2008-09 have been released showing how much each
city councillor claimed in travel expenses and
how much they were paid for their work. They
insisted their expense claims withstood scrutiny.
Councillors are allowed to claim for miles they
travel in their own cars to attend council
meetings and other council-related work and the
mileage rate ranges from 46.9 per mile to
58.7p.... more
>>> |
BUS
STATION OPENING IS DELAYED AGAIN
 Derby's new bus station
will not open by the end of the year as promised,
due to building delays. The project has faced
problems with planning disputes, administrative
delays and the recession. The city council said
developers had now predicted the station would
open by early 2010. Officials also admitted they
had not agreed a charge for using the facility
with the bus companies. The city council also
confirmed it intended to charge buses to use the
station as a way of paying for maintenance and
security.... more
>>> |
SWING
BRIDGE TO NOWHERE IN LINE FOR AWARD
 The swing
bridge across the River Derwent is one of two
pieces of county architecture short-listed for an
award from the Prime Minister. The footbridge at
Cathedral Green, which opened in April, is one of
24 buildings and bridges in the running for the
Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award.
The short-listing panel said that the bridge in
Cathedral Green, designed by Ramboll, was an
elegant pedestrian and cycle swing bridge
creating both a link and a meeting place.... more
>>> |
FORMER
DEBENHAMS BUILDING TO BE FURNITURE STORE
 The former Debenhams
building is due to reopen as a furniture
superstore. Star Furnishings, of Long Eaton, is
moving into the building, which has been empty
since Debenhams moved to the Westfield Centre. A
number of developers had expressed an interest in
buying the building, which is owned by Westfield,
but the recession has made investors shy away
from large-scale schemes. Westfield is still
searching for someone to buy the building.... more
>>> |
COUNCIL
PLANNING FAILURE
 Council officers failed to post
adverts in the local press about sixty major
building projects. This means members of the
public were less likely to be aware of them and
raise any objections before approval was granted.
Council rules state that if four or more
complaints are made, plans have to be discussed
by councillors at a public meeting instead of
being approved privately by officers. Councillor
Paul Bayliss said, "It's an absolute
disaster for democracy and for the city
council.".... more
>>> |
SHORTLISTED
SITES FOR NEW COUNCIL HOUSE
 Three city centre sites
have been shortlisted as the location for a
potential new Council House. The three sites
involved are the former police and magistrates
court in Full Street, Heritage Gate and the
Riverlights development. The companies behind
each site are to be asked to submit proposals to
provide either a large office building to be the
council's new headquarters in place of the
present one, or a smaller building to complement
a refurbished Council House.... more
>>> |
ENGLISH
HERITAGE GRANT FOR CASTLE REPAIRS
 Elvaston Castle's historic
gardens are to undergo much-needed repair work
thanks to a £456,000 English Heritage grant. A
condition of the grant, which will cover 80% of
the cost of the remedial work, is that the area
of land is not sold for at least 15 years and
that it remains open to the public. Many of the
listed buildings within the estate have fallen
into a state of disrepair over recent years, and
it is estimated that the repair work needed will
cost £800,000.... more
>>> |
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