RIVERLIGHTS SCHEME

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Lawyers representing the developer behind the Riverlights scheme claim that campaigner Dorothy Skrytek cost the public thousands of pounds by pursuing an appeal against a defunct liquor licence. Miss Skrytek successfully overturned a licence for 12 premises on the Morledge site at a civil court. But Derby City Council, which handles licensing applications in the city, said the licence had been meaningless since the Licensing Act came into effect last November. All premises serving drinks were required to reapply for their licences because of the Act, and the licences that already existed ceased to be active.

Poppleston Allen, the licensing solicitors' firm that represented developer Derby Riverlights during the case, has accused Miss Skrytek of wasting time and money. It revealed that Derby Riverlights had been forced to spend about £15,000 between them representing themselves. Nick Landells, legal executive at Poppleston Allen, said, "I would guess that the cost of the court time has been somewhere between £1,500 and £2,000, and you can probably say the same again for everything that's happened in the background."

Andrew Hopkin, the council's assistant director of environmental health, added, "The outcome of this appeal is meaningless because the legislation had expired anyway." David Osborne, of Derby Riverlights, said, "This has all been a total waste of time and money. She was keen to see it through even though it meant nothing." But why would it cost the taxpayer anything when the only party losing out is the developer. And if the taxpayer is paying, why are we paying to fight a private developers court case? (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Oct/06)

Stand by for forty weeks of roadworks as the start of the Riverlights complex begins with the Cockpit island being completely redesigned. Several lane closures will be in place with the most notable being the reduction to a single lane of the road between the exit from the Cockpit car park to Station Approach. It is hoped the redesign of the island will both ease congestion by improving traffic flow and open up space for the new entrance to the Riverlights complex.

Under the plans, the Cockpit island will no longer be a roundabout and instead, there will be a lights-controlled crossroads and a two-way road linking St Alkmund's Way and Traffic Street. Chris Williamson, leader of Derby City Council, said, "Clearly there will be some disruption but much of the work will take place off the road itself so the impact will not be as drastic as many people might expect." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Feb/07)

Derby Riverlights Ltd has announced that the contract to build the Riverlights complex has been awarded to York-based Shepherd Construction. Work will begin in August and the entire project should be completed by May 2009. Shepherd now has to draw up detailed designs before submitting a planning application to the city council. But shouldn't planning permission have been granted before work was planned?

Derby Riverlights said the first part of the scheme to be completed would be the bus station in late 2008 and it would stand in almost exactly the same position as the previous bus station, overlooking the River Gardens. One hotel had been proposed to occupy the centre of the site but it has now been announced that there will be two.

John Ramsay, who will manage the site for Riverlights' project manager Bellamy and Wareham, of Coventry, said, "Getting the hotels completed will be key because that will bring life to the scheme." Roadworks taking place around Cockpit Island in readiness for the start of Riverlights should be completed in September to coincide with the opening of Westfield Derby.

David Osborne, director of Derby Riverlights Ltd, said, "We've been through a very exhaustive procedure to make sure we've got the right contractor for the job and so we're delighted." City council leader Chris Williamson said, "I'm delighted and thrilled that at long last we will see real progress on the site, which is long overdue." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/07)

The Riverlights project has been delayed yet again due to uncertain economic conditions. Developer Derby Riverlights Ltd wants to delay indefinitely plans for offices and residential space and city councillors have agreed in order to allow the bus station to go ahead. The developers and city council have said the bus station is still due to open in September 2009. The redevelopment of the bus station and the associated Riverlights scheme have been on the drawing board for more than a decade.

Under an agreement between developer Riverlights Ltd and Derby City Council, once work starts the entire scheme has to be finished within 36 months. David Osborne, director of Derby Riverlights, wants the council's cabinet to change that rule. He does not want to start building the apartments or offices yet because of economic problems which have seen property prices fall and people unwilling to take out mortgages. He wants the start of work on them to be delayed "indefinitely".

Mr Osborne said, "With the market the way it is at the moment, we have to time the construction we are doing so we are not coming onstream when the market is subdued. We will have to keep tabs on the market and see how it goes and then start at the best time. We are 100% committed to the entire Riverlights development and our priority is the bus station. We have always known this would not be an overnight project and always knew it would have to be phased. In an ideal world, obviously, we would have liked to get it all completed at once but we are professional developers and need to make judgements according to the state of the markets." (Source: BBC News, Jun/08)

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