RIVERLIGHTS EXHIBITION 2
By Patricia C. Woolley

I wish to draw attention to the public consultation exhibition recently held in the Market Place regarding the Riverlights proposal. The information being given out by the organisers, Derby City Council and MetroHolst, the developers, was misleading and contradictory; added to which, they were unable to answer many of the questions put to them. After stating there would be "very few if any" retail outlets, they could not explain to me why the artist's impression illustrated no fewer than 19 shops, all opening out on to the River Gardens, saying only that it was "artistic licence".

We all know from previous artists' impressions how different it looks in real life, but to mislead the public so blatantly in an attempt to obtain support for outline planning permission is not giving a true picture of what they intend to deliver even at this early stage. It was also pointed out to me that the Riverlights/bus station building was not in question as the decision on that had already been made. That being so, why was there a huge picture of the "new bus station" and why did it feature so prominently in all their literature, if not to confuse the public into thinking that their decision counts on the whole development instead of just part of it?

This exhibition was arranged without any consultation whatsoever with the council leader or any of the local councillors, who had just two days' notice of such an important event. Derby City Council did very little, if anything, to publicise the event, and many people have expressed concern that it was only run for five days, especially at this time of year when so many people are away on holiday. It should have been taken to area panel meetings and libraries over a longer period of time to ensure that everyone who wanted to comment on the development had the opportunity to do so.

When one considers how long the bus station area has been neglected and the speed with which this exhibition was arranged, one has to ask, why the sudden sense of urgency? Finally, there is much talk about the taxpayer having to pay £3m if the council pulls out of the MetroHolst contract. As the developers' costs to date are estimated to be in the region of £600,000, just where did the figure of £3m originate? Perhaps Derby City Council could tell us if there is a penalty clause?

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