EAGLE CENTRE

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Primark, in Devonshire Walk, in the Eagle Centre, is to close after 31 years in Derby, with the loss of 75 jobs. Westfield, joint owner of the Eagle Centre, confirmed that Primark had been subject to a compulsory purchase order. Peter Miller, development director at Westfield, said the shop was "in the way" of the Eagle Centre extension. Mr Miller said, "We offered Primark an alternative site which was bigger than the one it's currently in. We would've paid for the move but the firm wasn't interested." The nearest Primark shop is in Swan Walk, Burton. A Primark spokeswoman said, "Regrettably, we're closing the Derby store because there is a compulsory purchase order on it. We're opening another store in Leicester and we've offered staff jobs there." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

The closure of Primark in Derby is leaving many people out of work, worried about debts and mortgages. There are a large number of regular customers who depend on the store's good quality and reasonable prices, who are also devastated to hear the news. We employ hard-working people, solely to tidy up after a unique breed of customers who feel it is fine to damage anything in their path whilst on the hunt for a bargain. We must hasten to add that a large proportion of our customers do not fall into this category but, unfortunately, they are also subjected to the mess left behind by the minority. We serve in excess of 16,000 people per week, 20% of these on a Saturday. We sell over 52 000 items of stock a week through just 10 cash registers. Primark employees are hard-working and dedicated, with their difficult job made even harder by a few ignorant and disrespectful customers. We would like to end this letter by asking people to follow the old adage, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything. Primark Management.

Primark has started fitting out its new shop in Derby, the former Marks and Spencer store, in Corn Market, and is expected to open in about three months. City council leader Chris Williamson said, "We've said all along that we'd like to see Primark back in the city. Derby has changed a lot since they were last here and I think the city has a lot to offer Primark, as well as the other way round. I think that having Primark on the old Marks and Spencer site will help to get footfall to that part of the city and it's in line with our commitment that the whole of the city benefits from the investment it's currently seeing." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jan/08)

Etam, in the Eagle Centre's Crown Walk, has closed after 18 years in Derby. Peter Miller, development director at Westfield, said the closure was an "exciting opportunity" for the centre. He said, "From our point of view it creates an opportunity to enhance that part of the centre." Seems Etam wasn't good enough for Derby.

One of the owners of the Eagle Centre has said it will review its decision to close an exit at the shopping centre's underground car park, after concerns were raised. John Orme wrote to Westfield Shopping Towns, joint owner of the Eagle Centre with Hermes Property Asset Management, about the car park after the London Road entrance/exit was closed to make way for the work to create a £300m extension at the Eagle Centre. Now there is only one entrance/exit into Traffic Street, compared to three when the car park originally opened in the 1970s. The entrance/exit to the Morledge was closed in 1998 when the Cockpit car park opened. Mr Orme and his wife Janet were stuck in the car park for more than an hour after a collision between a lorry and a car in Traffic Street brought traffic in the city centre to a standstill.

Mr Orme believed the queues could have been eased if there were two exits open, and was concerned that there may not be enough ventilation for exhaust fumes now the London Road exit has been sealed. He said, "The danger arises from the original three entry and exits being reduced to just one on to the busy Traffic Street, resulting in an entry/exit flow capability well below this fully enclosed car park's original specification. When we were stuck in the car park it was very nasty, quite smelly from the exhausts and horns were going off. There were no messages telling us what was happening. If the Morledge entrance was reopened, the traffic could have exited and avoided the Cockpit island and Traffic Street."

Mr Orme said there were also queues in the car park when the traffic lights malfunctioned in the Cockpit. He wrote to Westfield after the incident suggesting reopening the Morledge exit, even if only in emergencies. Westfield replied to his concerns and said that although a full review, including consultation with a specialist traffic management company, was carried out before closing the London Road exit, it would review the decision in light of Mr Orme's comments. The letter, from Kevin Duffy, Eagle Centre manager, said, "I would like to reassure you that having one entrance is within safety regulations and is common place for car parks of this size. However, we will review our decision." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

A recruitment drive by businesses opening stores in the new Westfield Derby shopping centre is well under way. Mobile phone chain Orange, furniture chain The Pier and toy business Build-a-Bear Workshop have all begun recruiting. Earlier in the month, The Pier and Orange both announced that they would be taking stores in the extended shopping centre. Orange is advertising for sales advisers and The Pier is looking for 22 people to fill both management and sales positions.

In February, Build-a-Bear Workshop announced that it would be opening a store in the new centre. Build-a-Bear allows customers, both young and old, to build their own teddy bears, with the help of staff. The company, which originally started in America, is looking for three people to fill management roles and around five 'bear builders' who work with the customers to put together their own personal teddy bear.

A centre which was set up especially to help people find employment at Westfield Derby has also experienced a large influx of inquiries from job seekers. So far, more than 1,500 people have registered with Workstation, which opened in March in the Corn Exchange, Albert Street. The centre is helping people to apply for around 2,850 job opportunities, which the extended shopping centre is creating.

Other stores to sign up for space in the development are mobile phone stores Carphone Warehouse, O2 and Vodafone, coffee shops Costa and Gratzia Coffee, Zumo juice bar, The Perfume Shop and fashion stores Republic, Xplicit, Baronjon, Pearl Boutique, Eltex, Ministry of Design and Trade Secrets. Arts and collectables store Thomas Kinkade will also be opening, as well as jewellers F Hinds and Judith Hart of Derby, health and beauty shop Tai-ji, computer store CEX and stationers Paperchase. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/07)